Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: Virat Kohli to play Delhi's third match on January 6

Virat Kohli is set to continue his participation in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Delhi as he is in line to play against Railways on January 6 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

Initially named in Delhi’s squad for the first two matches, it is understood that Kohli has opted to play a third game ahead of the home series against New Zealand, which starts on January 11. The development was confirmed by Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) President Rohan Jaitley on December 29.

"As of now, he is playing. Virat has given his availability for three games," Jaitley told India Today.

Kohli has been in a hot patch of form for Delhi in the two games so far. He struck a boundary-filled 131 off 101 against Andhra in the first game and followed it with a Player-of-the-Match 77 off 61 against Gujarat two days later. He also breached the 16,000-run mark in List A cricket, reaching there in his 330th innings to become the fastest to the milestone, eclipsing Sachin Tendulkar’s record (391 innings).

Before the Vijay Hazare stint, Kohli lit up the series against South Africa, ending as the highest run-getter by some distance as he amassed 302 runs in three innings at a stunning average of 151, including two consecutive centuries and a half-century. South Africa’s Matthew Breetzke was a distant second with 164 runs in as many innings.

Kohli started the series against South Africa with a 120-ball 135 in India’s 17-run victory in Ranchi. He followed that with a 93-ball 102 in Raipur in a lost cause, with South Africa levelling the series with a four-wicket win. Kohli ended the series with a dominating, unbeaten half-century (65 off 45) in Visakhapatnam, where India won by nine wickets, clinching the series 2-1.

Meanwhile, the Indian team is likely to assemble in Vadodara, the venue for the series opener against New Zealand, on January 8. Kohli could reach a day in advance to prepare and train. The other two ODIs will be played in Rajkot and Indore on January 14 and 18, respectively.