Batting superstar Virat Kohli and world No. 1 ODI batter Rohit Sharma played in the first two matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 for Delhi and Mumbai, respectively, but both of them will not feature in the third group match of their domestic sides on Monday (December 29).
In their third Elite Group C match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Shardul Thakur’s Mumbai will face Chhattisgarh at Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground in Jaipur, whereas Delhi’s third Elite Group D match is scheduled against Saurashtra at KSCA Cricket (2) Ground in Alur. Both the fixtures will kick off at 09:00 AM IST on Monday, but Rohit and Virat will not play.
Rohit was only included in Mumbai’s squad for the first couple of matches, which is why he is not available for the selection in the contest against Chhattisgarh, whereas Kohli has also left Delhi’s camp after the first two matches and was seen in Mumbai on Saturday. He will also not participate in the Delhi-Saurashtra match, but Rishabh Pant is expected to lead the Delhi team.
Kohli’s absence from the playing XI will be a big setback for Delhi because he is in red-hot form these days.
In the first match of the ongoing season for Delhi, he scored 131 runs from 101 balls in the 299-run chase, and against Gujarat on Friday (December 26), Kohli added 77 runs from 61 balls to Delhi’s total and bagged the Player Of The Match award.
In place of Kohli, former India U19 World Cup-winning team captain Yash Dhull is likely to bat at No. 3 on Monday against Saurashtra.
As for Rohit, he scored 155 runs from just 94 balls against Sikkim in the 237-run chase at Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Wednesday (December 24) but got out for a golden duck in Mumbai’s second match against Uttarakhand on Friday (December 26) at the same venue.
It was reported last week that Yashasvi Jaiswal will be available for selection from December 29 onwards, and if the left-handed batter, who is celebrating his 24th birthday on Sunday (December 28), is fit, then he will open the innings for Mumbai in place of Rohit.
Third round matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 on Monday (December 29)
| GROUP | TEAM 1 | TEAM 2 | VENUE |
| Elite Group A | Karnataka | Tamil Nadu | Gujarat College Ground, Ahmedabad |
| Elite Group A | Rajasthan | Tripura | ADSA Railways Cricket Ground, Ahmedabad |
| Elite Group A | Jharkhand | Puducherry | Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground, Ahmedabad |
| Elite Group A | Kerala | Madhya Pradesh | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad |
| Elite Group B | Bengal | Chandigarh | Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot |
| Elite Group B | Jammu and Kashmir | Vidarbha | Sanosara Cricket Ground B, Rajkot |
| Elite Group B | Baroda | Uttar Pradesh | Sanosara Cricket Ground A, Rajkot |
| Elite Group B | Assam | Hyderabad | Niranjan Shah Stadium C, Rajkot |
| Elite Group C | Himachal Pradesh | Maharashtra | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur |
| Elite Group C | Punjab | Uttarakhand | Anantam Ground, Jaipur |
| Elite Group C | Chhattisgarh | Mumbai | Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, Jaipur |
| Elite Group C | Goa | Sikkim | KL Saini Ground, Alur |
| Elite Group D | Delhi | Saurashtra | KSCA Cricket (2) Ground, Alur |
| Elite Group D | Railways | Services | KSCA Cricket (3) Ground, Alur |
| Elite Group D | Andhra Pradesh | Odisha | KSCA Cricket Ground, Alur |
| Elite Group D | Gujarat | Haryana | BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru |
| Plate Group | Arunachal Pradesh | Manipur | Usha Martin Ground, Ranchi |
| Plate Group | Mizoram | Nagaland | JSCA Oval Ground, Ranchi |
| Plate Group | Bihar | Meghalaya | JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi |
Apart from Rohit and Kohli, 14-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is also set to miss the remainder of the tournament for Bihar.
Sooryavanshi, who slammed 190 runs from just 84 balls for Bihar in their Vijay Hazare Trophy Plate Group match against Arunachal Pradesh on December 24, was included in India’s U19 World Cup squad on Saturday (December 27). He will join the Indian team’s camp ahead of a three-match series in South Africa which is starting on January 3, 2026, in Benoni. In the absence of Ayush Mhatre and Vihaan Malhotra, who are nursing wrist injuries, Sooryavanshi will captain the India U19 team in three youth ODIs.