Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are winding down their careers. They have stepped away from T20I and Test cricket and now focusing on ODI cricket with the 2027 World Cup in mind.
Both Rohit and Kohli want to play in the tournament but there are reports they might not be around till then. Some say the ODI series against Australia later this year could be their last.
If that’s true then Virat Kohli and Rohit might play domestic cricket in the Vijay Hazare Trophy which starts on December 24. Let’s see Virat and Rohit’s last appearance in India’s top List A tournament.
Virat Kohli last played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in the 2009-10 season. Delhi faced Services on February 18 in Gurgaon. Virat was the captain and scored 16 runs off 8 balls. Delhi scored 311 and won, restricting Services to 198.
The VHT was important in Kohli’s career. In the 2008-09 season he scored 534 runs in 7 matches which was the most. His 4 centuries in that edition was a record till Narayan Jagadeesan broke it in 2022-23.
Rohit Sharma last played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in October 2018. He played 2 games, for Mumbai, Rohit remained unbeaten on 33 in the quarter-final against Bihar. He scored 17 runs off 24 balls in the semi-final against Hyderabad.
BCCI had asked senior players to play in the Ranji Trophy before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2024.
A PTI report says BCCI is thinking of having Rohit and Virat play in India A matches in 50-over format. Vijay Hazare Trophy is unlikely.
They were supposed to play international cricket for the first time since the Champions Trophy in March in Bangladesh but the series was cancelled. India’s next ODI series is against Australia from October 19-25. Some in BCCI want Kohli and Rohit to get ready for the tour by playing a couple of India A games at home when Australia A team tours.
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The three matches will be in Kanpur on September 30, October 3 and October 5 while the senior team plays the first Test against West Indies. A Dainik Jagran report says Rohit and Virat need to play domestic cricket to stay relevant and match-ready. But, they will have already played 6 ODIs before the Vijay Hazare Trophy starts on December 24 with matches against Australia and South Africa.
A BCCI source told PTI anonymously, Even if they play the Vijay Hazare Trophy, they would have already played 6 ODIs before that. Between the Australia and South Africa ODI series, there is an India A series against South Africa A with 3 List A games (50 overs) in Rajkot on November 13, 16 and 19.
