Rishabh Pant to Lead Delhi in Vijay Hazare Trophy, Virat Kohli Named in Squad

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Rishabh Pant to Lead Delhi in Vijay Hazare Trophy, Virat Kohli Named in Squad: Indian team's star batsman and former captain Virat Kohli will play for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) has announced the squad for the first two matches of the tournament, and Virat Kohli has been included. The team will be captained by Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant. Besides Kohli and Pant, the high-profile Delhi team also includes international cricketers like Ishant Sharma, Navdeep Saini, and Harshit Rana.

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Delhi is in Group D and will play seven matches between December 24 and January 8. It is not yet confirmed whether Pant and Kohli will be available for all the matches. The Indian team is scheduled to play an ODI series against New Zealand starting on January 11. Delhi's first two matches are against Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, both of which will be played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This is also Virat Kohli's home ground in the IPL.

Delhi Squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy

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

Virat Kohli played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 15 years ago

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Kohli last played a Vijay Hazare Trophy match in 2010, which was during the early stages of his career. Kohli's last match in the tournament was against Services. Virat Kohli has retired from Test and T20 formats in international cricket; he now only plays in the ODI format. Kohli was in superb form in the last ODI series against South Africa. He scored 302 runs in 3 matches, including two centuries and one half-century.

When will the Delhi team play its first match?

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The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 season is set to begin on December 24th, with the Delhi team playing its first match against Andhra Pradesh in Bengaluru. Delhi will then face Gujarat on December 26th, also in Bengaluru. The tournament final will be played on December 18th at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

Also Read: India 15-Member Squad for T20 World Cup 2026

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