India former captain Virat Kohli is preparing to return to domestic cricket in the 2025–26 season, playing for his home state Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The DDCA has included him in Delhi’s squad for the 50-over event this time, which will be his first List-A game for the state side in over a decade. With Kohli plying his trade only in ODIs for the Indian team, and as per BCCI’s policy, a contracted player has to play a minimum number of games to be eligible for selection, it was bound to happen and it is still good news for fans.
Even at 37, Kohli remains India’s most reliable ODI batsman. He has just hit his 52nd ODI century – a stunning 135 against South Africa in Ranchi, an innings that bagged him the Player of the Match prize. India-South Africa series will end on December 6 in Visakhapatnam, which means that Kohli can get at least a good two-and-a-half weeks before Vijay Hazare kicks starts on December 24 in Ahmedabad. However, it’s yet unclear if he will play all seven of Delhi’s league matches or if his availability will depend on the India ODI series against New Zealand beginning 11 January in Vadodara.
Delhi’s Vijay Hazare Trophy matches are divided between two venues. Five games of the seven to be played in Alur, close by the city of Bengaluru, and two matches will take place at the picture-sea M Chinnaswamy Stadium – a ground that is attached to Kohli since for years he has been playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL. His addition is likely to be a crowd puller and experience booster for the Delhi outfit.
The most recent 50-over domestic game Kohli last played for Delhi was in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy in 2013. He has not participated in a Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament since the 2009–10 season, in which he was also captain. The return comes across as something of a blast from the past and an opportunity for some younger Delhi players to share a dressing room with one of India’s most iconic cricketers of this generation.
Delhi’s new campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, meanwhile, has been a mixed bag with two wins from their opening four matches under skipper Nitish Rana. Kohli’s presence in the one-day tournament is likely to motivate his team going into the series.
