Just after the end of the three-match ODI series at home against South Africa, it was announced that Virat Kohli would be part of a couple of games for Delhi in the 2025/26 season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT). He was expected to be joined by the wicket-keeper, Rishabh Pant, in the squad.

This happens given the BCCI’s rule of players turning up in the domestic game if they are not part of the national commitment. It will be a return to List-A cricket for Kohli after a long time, as he appeared for the side in the first-class game against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium at the start of the year.

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That turned out to be his final game with the red ball as he announced his retirement from the longest format during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Kohli, however, keeps an eye on being part of the upcoming ODI World Cup 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia

Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli named in first two Delhi games in VHT 2025/26 

Pant has been named the captain of the side with Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini also making them available for the first two games. Virat Kohli has also been part of the 20-man squad which will play its first two games against Andhra and Gujarat. Harshit Rana, if available, will join the squad as Ayush Badoni has been named the vice-captain. 

Pant will also get the experience of Nitish Rana in the middle order and the freshness of young Priyansh Arya at the opening spot of the team. Simarjeet Singh will be their top-class bowler of the side, with Hrithik Shokeen taking care of the spin department. 

Delhi’s squad for the first two VHT 2025/26 games

Rishabh Pant (capt), Ayush Badoni (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Arpit Rana, Yash Dhull, Sarthak Ranjan, Priyansh Arya, Tejasvi Singh (wk), Nitish Rana, Hrithik Shokeen, Harsh Tyagi, Simarjeet Singh, Prince Yadav, Divij Mehra, Ayush Doseja, Vaibhav Kandpal, Rohan Rana, Ishant Sharma, Navdeep Saini.
Anuj Rawat (standby wicketkeeper)

A list of probable candidates was announced a year before. But the main squad is yet to be announced. Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant are going to feature for their state team, Delhi, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 season. But who are the other players who will be playing alongside Kohli and Pant?

The Delhi cricket team will play their first match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on December 24 against Andhra Pradesh. Ahead of the contest, some serious allegations were made over the Delhi cricket governing body. As per fresh reports, the Delhi team is scheduled to leave the day after tomorrow for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and the team announcement hasn't been made yet. But why is there a delay in team announcements even after publishing the list of probables?

It is claimed that the announcement of the main squad is now on hold because of some 'personal preferences.' As Virat and Rishabh, two Team India superstars, are all set to play for the Delhi cricket team, it is going to be a dream come true moment for many regional players. Above all, as is alleged, there can be some personal preferences of the officials as well as the management. In between multiple preferences, the official team announcement is delayed, as per claims on social media. 

दिल्ली की टीम को परसो विजय हजारे ट्रॉफी के लिए निकलना है और अब तक टीम का ऐलान नहीं किया गया है, क्योंकि विराट ओर पंत के साथ खिलाने के लिए अधिकारी अपने खिलाड़ी भेजना चाहते है और मैनेजमेंट अपने । हद है दिल्ली क्रिकेट की ।

— vipul kashyap (@kashyapvipul) December 19, 2025

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List of 50 probables:

Dev Lakra, Divij Mehra, Yugal Saini, Sujal Singh, Rajneesh Dadar, Aman Bharti, Govind Mittal, Sumit Beniwal, Shubham Dubey, Keshav Dabas, Rahul Choudhary, Samarth Seth, Shivam Tripathi, Anmol Sharma, Shivam Gupta, Lakshay Thareja, Manan Bhardwaj, Rounak Waghela, Mayank Gussain, Keshav R Singh, Laxman, Divansh Rawat, Pranav Rajvanshi, Pranshu Vijayran, Siddhant Sharma, Gagan Vats, Vansh Bedi, Rahul Gahlot, Vishal Rai, Samarth Singh, Sanat Sangwan, Aayush Singh, Sumit Mathur, Sampooran Tripathi, Vivek Tiwari, Hrithik Shokeen, Tejas Baroka, Saksham Sharma, Dev Dubey, Shivam Sharma, Rohit Yadav, Anirudh Choudhary, Vishant Bhati, Pranav Pant, Pankaj Jaswal, Ajay Guliya, Siddhant Bansal, Vikas Solanki, Divij Prakash and Suryakant Chauhan. 

The air pollution in India’s capital, Delhi, has gone up by leaps and bounds over the last few years, and that has resulted in dense fog in the winter season. But how can a cricket match stop for it? A video has gone viral of such an incident where a cricket match was seen being played amidst the dense fog as the players wear jumpers and big jackets to keep them warm.

In the video coming from Delhi, the batter has been seen to be smashing the left-arm spinner for a massive boundary. But it’s hard to fathom the bowler, who is lost in the dense fog. Even the fielders are hard to see with only two dim lights that can be displayed from a far stage. It’s expected to be a local game.

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A few days ago, one hour’s play was possible on the opening day of the Cooch Behar Trophy Under-19 league match in Bareilly between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar due to the dense fog, which reduced the visibility to almost zero.

Cricket match in dense fog goes viral in Delhi

Even during an international Test match in 2017 between India and Sri Lanka, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, such an incident took place where the touring players started to cough in the polluted air and used the masks on their faces, which saw the then Indian captain, Virat Kohli, declare and decide to bowl against the visiting side.

Watch the video here: 

A cricket match in Delhi. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/xSNpShqU2B

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 17, 2025

In terms of the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2026 auction, they entered the auction with a purse of INR 21.8 crore and have got a settled XI already, along with their impact player. At the top, they got two foreign opening batters, Pathum Nissanka and Ben Duckett, with the batter looking more possible to open with KL Rahul.

Even in the bowling group, they added Lungi Ngidi and Kyle Jamieson to partner with Mitchell Starc, along with already signed pacer Mitchell Starc. David Miller also came into the franchise to join his Protea match, Tristan Stubbs. Capitals perhaps left the auction as the winner of the evening.

Delhi cricket continues to show their poor performance in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025/26 at the home ground, Arun Jaitley Stadium, against Jammu and Kashmir. For the first time in the history of India’s first-class cricket, J&K have beaten this opponent in 42 attempts and 65 years. It was another successive defeat for Delhi after their loss to Pondicherry last week.

Winning the toss, the visitors decided to bowl first on a surface that they expected to help the pacers in the foggy conditions on the opening day. Auqib Nabi, who could be the upcoming star for India, led their bowling with five wickets in 16 overs for 35 runs, while Vanshaj Sharma and Abid Mushtaq’s combined four wickets blew away Delhi for 211 runs in the first innings.

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Only their three batters of the middle order, Ayush Badoni, Ayush Doseja, and Sumit Mathur, celebrated their respective fifties. In reply, Jammu and Kashmir posted a massive score of 310 runs in their first innings to collect a lead of 99 runs as their captain, Paras Dogra, celebrated a fine century.

Watch: Jammu and Kashmir scripts maiden Ranji Trophy victory against Delhi in 65 years

Apart from Dogra’s century, Abdul Samad smashed 85 runs while the wicket-keeper batter, Kanhaiya Wadhawan, got 47 runs in 81 balls. At 244/3 in the second innings, everything was swinging in Delhi’s favor as their captain, Badoni, made 72 runs while Doseja grabbed 62 runs in 88 deliveries. But suddenly, there was a rush of blood and Delhi fell like a pack of cards.

A monumental victory! 👏

J & K register an impressive 7⃣-wicket win against Delhi on the back of Qamran Iqbal's knock of 133*(147) 👍

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/tMwkPihrxx@IDFCFIRSTBank | #RanjiTrophy pic.twitter.com/1YF5aGzFKm

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) November 11, 2025

The home side lost their last seven wickets for just 33 runs in 12 overs, with Vanshaj Sharma ending with a fine figure of 6/68 in 16.1 overs, while Sahil Lotra collected three wickets in 23 overs at an economy rate of 3.20. Delhi set the target of just 179 runs for the fourth innings.

The target was never expected to create trouble for the Jammu and Kashmir side, and if there was any, their opener, Qamran Iqbal, remained unbeaten on 133 runs in just 147 balls with the help of 20 boundaries and three sixes at a strike rate of 90.48, to complete the chase by seven wickets.

After Roston Chase’s West Indies side were dismantled in less than three days by India in the series opener at Ahmedabad, the visitors are likely to find more favourable batting conditions for the second and final Test in New Delhi. The match begins on October 10 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

India, led by Shubman Gill, dominated every session of the first Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The hosts wrapped up a commanding innings-and-140-run victory inside two-and-a-half days, showcasing their all-round superiority. The decision to declare early on Day 3 ensured India spent no more than eight sessions on the field, keeping their bowlers fresh for the Delhi encounter.

According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the pitch in Delhi will be made using black soil and is expected to favour batters for most of the match. As the game progresses and the surface begins to wear, spinners are likely to come into play, offering more balance between bat and ball.

The change marks a clear contrast from Ahmedabad’s green-top, which had a generous layer of live grass that greatly assisted India’s fast bowlers. On a red-soil pitch with about four millimetres of grass, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj made early inroads, bundling out the West Indies for just 44.1 overs in their first innings. The visitors fared little better in their second innings, lasting only 45.1 overs.

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Delhi pitch to favour batters early, with spinners set to play a role later

In comparison, the Delhi pitch is expected to feature patches of grass interspersed with bald areas, resulting in a more even contest. The outfield will be quicker, and the boundaries slightly shorter, offering batsmen greater scoring opportunities. The surface’s black-soil base is known to hold together longer, assisting stroke play early on while gradually bringing spinners into the game from Day 3 onward.

The last Test match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium took place in 2023, when India defeated Australia by six wickets in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. That match featured a slow-turning surface that began offering considerable help to spinners as it aged.

Weather may also play a role in Delhi’s Test. Recent rainfall has kept mornings cooler and left the skies overcast in the evenings, conditions that could influence swing and seam movement early in the match.

For West Indies, this second Test offers a chance to regroup and restore some pride after their humbling in Ahmedabad. For India, it’s an opportunity to seal another home series with a statement performance, this time, perhaps on a surface more suited to run-making than destruction.

Lionel Messi, the football legend and 2022 World Cup-winning captain, has confirmed that he will be visiting India this December. Describing it as an “honour” to return to the country, Messi expressed excitement about meeting Indian fans after 14 years since his last visit. 

“It is such an honour for me to make this trip. India is a very special country, and I have good memories from my time there 14 years ago ,the fans were fantastic,” Messi said in an official statement. “India is a passionate football nation, and I look forward to meeting a new generation of fans while sharing the love I have for this beautiful game.”

The four-city tour, part of the GOAT Tour 2025, will begin in Kolkata and conclude in New Delhi, featuring football, concerts, and special events.

Messi GOAT Tour 2025 – Schedule

Tickets for events in Kolkata are expected to start at Rs 3,500. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to felicitate Messi during the programme.

Messi’s Previous Visit to India

Messi first visited India in 2011, playing a friendly against Venezuela at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. That match was also his first as Argentina captain.

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Possible November Visit: Argentina Team in Kerala

The Argentina men’s football team, coached by Lionel Scaloni, is scheduled to play a FIFA international friendly in India during the November window (10–18 November). While the venue is likely to be Kerala, the opponents are yet to be confirmed.

A source from Kerala stated: “I will be surprised if the legendary footballer comes twice in a month. However, it is most likely that the Argentina team minus Messi may come to play in Kerala.”

Messi’s Achievements

Messi’s December tour is expected to be one of the biggest football-related events ever staged in India, attracting fans from across the country to celebrate the GOAT of football.

The former BCCI selector recalled some incidents when Virat Kohli went to play the Ranji Trophy after over a decade. He was out of form against Australia and returned to domestic cricket as per BCCI mandates. When the batting icon decided to represent Delhi in a Ranji match, local cricket fans were overwhelmed.

Fans turned out in record numbers only to see Virat in a Ranji game. In a recent conversation, Sarandeep Singh explains how fans were crazy for Kohli. The former cricketer said that people were gathered in large numbers. Fans were waiting in a queue outside the stadium from 4 A.M. of the winter dawn. There were a few thousand free seats allotted to mark the special occasions. The organizers then had no clue how crowded they were going to manage.

Singh also said that he talked with a police officer who assumed that roughly 2000 to 4000 fans might come. But in reality, on the day of the match, more than 25 thousand fans were there, only because of Virat Kohli. Sarandeep compared the Ranji Trophy match atmosphere with a World Cup final. 

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Vibe like a World Cup final

"There was a discussion about 10,000 seats for free. So I asked the security how many fans might come, and the police officer said, "Not too many, maybe around 2,000 to 4,000." But when we came the next day, people were already standing in line from 4 AM in the cold weather, and more than 25,000 people showed up. The atmosphere was such that it felt like a World Cup Final was going to be played," Sarandeep Singh said. 

Delhi won the Ranji Trophy match against Railways by an inning and 19 runs. Ayush Badoni scored 99, Sumit Mathur scored 86, and Virat got only 6 off 15.

Jasvir Sehrawat pulled a stunning catch on his own delivery. During the 24th match of the ongoing Delhi Premiere League T20 (DPL T20 2025), he stunned the crowd through his effort. In the second innings of the Central Delhi Kings vs North Delhi Strikers game, the caught and bowled moment attracted the spotlight.

It was a high-scoring match, which was eventually won by the Central Delhi Kings. They won the match by 15 runs against the North Delhi Strikers. Jasvir Sehrawat got only one over to swing his arm; he did his job in that one over. North Delhi Strikers was in trouble while chasing a target of 197 runs in 16 overs.

They started the run chase with a good motion, with the help of their openers Sarthak Ranjan and Arnav Bugga. Ranjan scored 52, and Bugga got 43. After their departures, it was a batting setback for North Delhi as they started to lose one wicket after another at regular intervals. Yash Dabas could be dangerous in the middle but went back to the pavilion before getting the required momentum.

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Sehrawat got batting skills as well

Jasvir Sehrawat came with the ball and hit the bullseye. On a slightly fuller length delivery on the stumps, the batter tried to push it towards the leg stump and got only a leading edge. Sehrawat identified his opportunity to shine and threw his body on the right side to grab the ball. His landing was not a soft one; still, the ball remained on his safe palms. 

Though Sehrawat registered his name on the scoreboard mainly for his bowling, his batting abilities also can provide a team proper support. In June 2025, the left-handed batsman smashed an unbeaten 100 of 63 for the Royal North Brothers. 

Jasvir Sehrawat clinched the Catch of the Match award in the 24th fixture of the Adani Delhi Premier League 2025! 🏏

Jasvir Sehrawat | Central Delhi Kings | North Delhi Strikers | #AdaniDPL2025 #DPL2025 #DPL #Cricket #T20 pic.twitter.com/ze5pmmxic2

— Delhi Premier League T20 (@DelhiPLT20) August 17, 2025

After taking retirement from Tests before the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, Virat Kohli has been out of action. It is not clear when he will return to the cricket field. In the last few days, there have been several claims about his future in international cricket.

He is still an active cricketer in One Day Internationals (ODI). In the upcoming days, Team India is scheduled to play multiple white ball series. Will Virat make himself available for those assignments? The question remains. Amid the speculations regarding Kohli's future in international cricket, cricket fans took some time to rewind the icon's decorated career.

More than a decade ago, Virat played his last domestic List A match for Delhi. On September 26, 2013, almost 12 years ago, when Delhi collided with India Blue, Virat was a crucial part of the clash. Vinay Kumar-led India Blue dominated over Delhi. Kohli was the skipper of the Delhi cricket team. Unlike his celebrated international career, the domestic match was not something to remember for Virat's individual brilliance. Abhishek Nayar's 91-run innings helped India-B to register 270 runs on the scoreboard, batting first. Virat delivered an over and leaked 9 runs without causing any notable trouble to India Blue batters.

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Not a memorable knock from Virat

While Delhi was chasing the competitive target, Virendra Sehwag and Rajat Bhatia played their parts well. Sehwag scored 59 and 65 for Bhatia. Virat managed to collect only 5 runs before losing his wicket against Kumar. After sustaining early setbacks, Delhi hinted at making a strong comeback in the contest. At a point in the second phase of the game, the Delhi cricket team was positioned well enough to turn the table. Sehwag's wicket proved costly for them. 

India Blue won the competition by 18 runs. The match remained as Virat Kohli's last domestic List A match of his cricketing career.

Nitish Rana looks set for a homecoming in Indian domestic cricket. After spending two seasons with Uttar Pradesh, the left-handed batter is likely to return to his original side, Delhi, ahead of the upcoming domestic season. The news was first reported by Pratyush Raj of the Times of India, and has already created buzz among fans of Delhi cricket.

Rana moved to Uttar Pradesh in 2022, probably looking for a fresh start and more chances to play consistently. He had a few solid outings there, but let’s be honest  the move didn’t really pan out the way many had hoped. Now, with Delhi rebuilding and trying to find their rhythm again, bringing someone like Rana back into the mix just feels like the right move.

He’s not new to the grind. Rana’s been around the domestic circuit for years, played in big IPL games, and even led Delhi before. He hits hard, plays with intent, and doesn’t shy away from pressure all things a young Delhi side could really use right now. He’s the kind of player who brings both skill and presence to the dressing room someone who’s been through it and knows what it takes.

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Nitish Rana’s Return Could Be the Turning Point in Delhi’s Domestic Cricket Rebuild

Rana’s return won’t just be about adding runs to the scorecard it could be about resetting Delhi’s mindset. Over the years, Rana has grown into a mature cricketer who understands the grind of domestic cricket. Rana’s been through a lot  he’s played big IPL matches, handled pressure situations, and seen what it’s like to be in different team environments. That kind of experience can’t be taught. It’s not just about the runs he scores it’s the leadership, the energy, and the intent he brings with him. For a Delhi side filled with young talent still finding their feet in the longer format, having someone like Rana around could make a real difference. He knows what it takes to win, and just as importantly, how to bounce back when things don’t go your way.

His presence in the dressing room could lift the whole squad. Rana understands the weight that comes with wearing the Delhi cap the expectations, the pressure, the constant comparisons. He’s been there before. And whether it’s rescuing the team from a collapse or putting an arm around a youngster who’s had a tough day, he adds value in ways that go beyond just numbers on a scoresheet. Delhi’s red-ball form has been patchy for a while now, but with Rana’s return, there’s hope they can turn a corner. He’s been through the highs and the lows  and that kind of experience might be exactly what this Delhi team needs to start punching above its weight again.