Former India captain Virat Kohli is all set to again feature for Delhi in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy as his state association, DDCA, confirmed his availability for the January 6 game against Railways. Kohli will be playing his third game this season after scoring impressively in the opening two games of the tournament.
Kohli, who set the competition ablaze with scores of 131 against Andhra and 77 versus Gujarat recently, had committed to play three matches for Delhi before linking up with the Indian team. DDCA president Rohan Jaitley said that 37-year-old made himself available for one more game as he had promised earlier before joining the national team’s camp ahead of ODI series against New Zealand starting January 11.
After the encounter with Gujarat on December 26 at Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence, Kohli went back briefly to London but will now join up with the Delhi squad ahead of the game. If he plays against Railways, it will be the second time within less than a year that Kohli takes on the same opponent in domestic cricket. Kohli had earlier taken part in a Ranji Trophy clash with Railways in January this year, a match that lasted from January 30 to February 1.
Kohli’s return to domestic cricket came after a tough tour of Australia, where he found it tough to get his rhythm right in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Expected to make a big impact as one of the star batters, Kohli struggled against deliveries outside the off stump and had a lean run with the bat. He returned to the domestic circuit with renewed intent, though he made only six runs in one of the matches, falling to a sharp delivery from pacer Himanshu Sangwan.
Previously, the BCCI had made it compulsory for centrally contracted players to participate in domestic tournaments to make the domestic structure stronger. Kohli and Rohit Sharma duly obliged before announcing their retirement from Test cricket early this year.
Since then, Kohli has found his mojo back in limited-overs cricket. In his last few ODIs, he has knitted two centuries and two unbeaten fifties; underlining his consistency and hunger for runs. He was also named Player of the Series against South Africa after producing two hundreds and a half-century.
The same is highlighted in this season’s 2025 Vijay Hazare Trophy, with Kohli showing how to attack the bowlers from the very start by sending both pace and spin into confident intent. Rohit Sharma has also had a good run going for him recently, with a century and half-century in the last couple of innings, but he too will not feature further in the domestic competition this season. And with the national squad for the New Zealand series scheduled to be announced shortly, all eyes will be on Kohli’s last domestic appearance as he looks to gain minimum steam for international cricket once again.
