The celebrated pair of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is poised to illuminate the Vijay Hazare Trophy once more. Before locking horns with New Zealand, they are expected to play at least three or four matches in Vijay Hazare, a List-A tournament featuring 50-over matches per team.
According to reports from PTI, if the duo has aspirations for the 2027 World Cup, participating in at least two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches before the New Zealand series is imperative.
Between wrapping up the South Africa series and stepping into the matches against New Zealand, Delhi and Mumbai will witness a minimum of six Vijay Hazare rounds. National selectors are keen for these seasoned players to participate.
A BCCI source shared with PTI, "The final ODI against South Africa is set for December 6 in Visakhapatnam, and the opening ODI against New Zealand kicks off on January 11 in Vadodara. A five-week span lies between these series. Vijay Hazare Trophy is slated to start on December 24. This means Mumbai will have six rounds (December 24, 26, 29, 31, and January 3, 6, 8). Hence, Rohit will likely suit up for at least three rounds, and so will Virat."
Source: aajtak
When did RO-KO last play in Vijay Hazare?
Virat Kohli's last appearance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy was back in February 2010, proudly leading Delhi. Rohit Sharma last competed in this tournament in October 2018, batting in two pivotal matches for Mumbai, scoring 33* against Bihar in the quarter-finals and 17 against Hyderabad in the semi-finals.
What was Rohit and Virat's last international series?
Rohit and Virat have already retired from T20 and Test cricket. Following their T20 World Cup victory in 2024, they withdrew from international T20 in 2024 and bid farewell to Tests in May 2025. Their swansong was the nail-biting ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final, where India overcame New Zealand.
Upcoming series and their roles
As of October 19, Rohit and Virat will once again take to the field in a three-match ODI series against Australia. Rohit will transition from captain to batsman under the leadership of Shubman Gill, BCCI's newly appointed ODI captain.
ODI Squad for the Australia Series:
Shubman Gill (captain), Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
India's ODI Schedule in Australia:
First ODI - October 19, Perth Second ODI - October 23, Adelaide Third ODI - October 25, Sydney
