Delhi’s selectors have confirmed that Virat Kohli will pull on state colours again when this season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy begins in Ahmedabad on 24 December. The 37-year-old now plays only one-day internationals for India and, under the BCCI directive that centrally contracted players turn out domestically whenever possible, he is expected to slot into Delhi’s middle order for at least part of the 50-over tournament.
“He will definitely play a few games, but not sure about the entire tournament,” DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma said. “It will depend upon his India matches too.”
The final ODI against South Africa finishes on 6 December in Visakhapatnam, leaving Kohli a handy two-week window before the Vijay Hazare opener. Delhi’s seven group fixtures run until 8 January, only three days before India host New Zealand in Vadodara, so the state side are braced for a possible mid-competition departure.
Five of those league matches are scheduled for Alur, just outside Bengaluru, while the remaining two take place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium—familiar turf for Kohli through his long association with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL. It is, however, more than a decade since he last represented Delhi in List-A cricket, captaining the side in the 2013 NKP Salve Challenger Trophy. His previous Vijay Hazare appearance dates back to 2009-10.
Form is hardly an issue. In Ranchi last week the right-hander posted his 52nd one-day international hundred, an authoritative 135 featuring seven clean sixes that earned him Player of the Match honours. Delhi coach Bhaskar Pillai, speaking informally at the Feroz Shah Kotla nets, welcomed the impending reinforcement. “Having Virat around lifts standards automatically. Even if it’s only for a few matches, the younger lads will benefit,” he said.
Delhi’s white-ball season has been mixed so far. Under Nitish Rana they have won two of four in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s, fielding an inexperienced bowling unit that tends to leak at the death. Kohli’s presence, even fleeting, should add composure to the chase and—perhaps more importantly—offer a calm head in the dressing-room.
From a national perspective, the BCCI is keen to keep its senior names match-sharp ahead of the New Zealand series and, further down the line, the 2026 Champions Trophy. Competitive domestic overs, rather than extended net sessions, tick that box. For Kohli, meanwhile, the stint represents a rare chance to reconnect with Delhi supporters in a format where he still feels he has “plenty left to give”, as he noted earlier this year.
How many outings he actually manages remains the key unknown, but for now ticket sellers in Alur and Bengaluru can legitimately advertise a glimpse of one of the modern game’s premier batters back in familiar whites and reds.
