Vijay Hazare Trophy: Why Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are absent in round 3? When will Kohli return?

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will not feature in the third round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as both had committed to playing only the first two matches of the tournament. Kohli is expected to return for Delhi’s penultimate league match against Railways on January 6, while Rohit is unlikely to play again this season.

The third round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) will be played on Monday, with Delhi and Mumbai aiming to extend their unbeaten runs in the tournament. Both teams, however, will be without their biggest stars, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Delhi is facing Saurashtra at the Karnataka Cricket Association (KSCA) Stadium in Alur, while Mumbai will take on Chhattisgarh at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground in Jaipur.

Why Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are not playing this round?

Kohli and Rohit had committed to playing only the first two matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. As a result, both are unavailable for the third round of league fixtures. Kohli played a key role in Delhi’s wins over Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, scoring 131 and 77 respectively. His appearance marked a return to the tournament after a gap of 15 years.


Rohit, meanwhile, made his comeback to the Vijay Hazare Trophy after seven years. He began with a commanding 155 against Sikkim but was dismissed for a golden duck against Uttarakhand.

Will Virat Kohli play more Vijay Hazare Trophy matches?

Kohli is expected to return for Delhi’s penultimate league match against Railways on January 6. The match will be held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. Confirming his availability, Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rohan Jaitley told PTI that Kohli has committed to playing three matches in the tournament.

During his appearances for Delhi, Kohli became the fastest batter to reach 16,000 List A runs, achieving the milestone in his 330th innings. He surpassed Sachin Tendulkar, who had reached the landmark in 391 innings.

“As of now, he is playing. Virat has given his availability for three games,” Jaitley said.The BCCI mandate requires centrally contracted players to feature in at least two Vijay Hazare matches, but Kohli has opted to play an additional game as part of his preparation for the upcoming home ODI series against New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is unlikely to feature again in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season.

India ODI series against New Zealand

The Indian ODI squad for the three-match series against New Zealand is scheduled to assemble in Vadodara by January 8. The series will begin at the same venue on January 11.

A BCCI source told PTI that Kohli could arrive a day early to train with the squad. As per PTI, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah will be rested from the ODI series as part of workload management. Both players are expected to play key roles in the home T20 World Cup beginning on February 7.

(With PTI and TOI inputs)