Virat Kohli to Miss Delhi vs Railways Match in Ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy

The latest update suggests that senior batter Virat Kohli will not play for Delhi in their upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 match against Railways. This will be the sixth round of the tournament and is scheduled for Tuesday, January 6, at KSCA Three Ovals Ground 2 in Alur.

Earlier, Delhi & District Cricket Association President Rohan Jaitley had confirmed that Kohli would play for Delhi in this match. However, the latest news says the 37-year-old will be unavailable. The exact reason is not known, but it is likely that he will soon join the Indian team for the ODI series against New Zealand.

Delhi captain Rishabh Pant has also been named in India’s 15-member squad for the three ODIs. There are signs that Pant will play the upcoming match for Delhi before leaving for national duty. The series against New Zealand will start on January 11, and the players are expected to join the squad on Wednesday.

Also Read -SA20 League 2025-26: PC vs SEC Today Match Prediction – 14th Match, Who Will Win Today?

Kohli and Pant in Domestic Cricket Before Joining India for New Zealand ODIs

The BCCI has made it mandatory for centrally contracted players to play at least two matches in domestic competitions when they are away from national duty. Since Virat Kohli has already played a couple of games, he is not required to play further. Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, has played all five matches for Delhi and may be seen playing his last game on Tuesday before joining the Shubman Gill-led Indian team.

Kohli started the Vijay Hazare Trophy season with a brilliant hundred in the opening round and followed it with a solid 77 in the second. He was also awarded the Player of the Match in the second-round fixture, where Pant had also scored a half-century. Both players will now join the Men in Blue for the ODI series against New Zealand.

India ODI squad for New Zealand series

Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper-batter), Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Arshdeep Singh.