As per BCCI’s instructions, Virat Kohli played two matches for Delhi this season. The first match was against Andhra Pradesh and the second against Gujarat. In both these matches, he played brilliant innings of 131 and 77 runs respectively, due to which the Delhi team was successful in achieving two consecutive victories.

Will Virat Kohli play any further matches for Delhi in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy?

It was believed that Kohli might play one more match for Delhi before the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, but that won’t happen. Delhi will now have to consolidate their position at the top of Group D without their most reliable batsman. Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh confirmed this to Hindustan Times, saying, “No, Virat Kohli is not available.”

If Kohli played, this match would have been a special one for him, as he would have faced Himanshu Sangwan, the same fast bowler who dismissed him in the last domestic red-ball match of his career. However, with the New Zealand series looming, Kohli is understood to be staying away from domestic cricket.

Virat Kohli is currently in excellent form in the white-ball format. Last year, he scored 302 runs in the ODI series against South Africa. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has already played two matches for Mumbai, marking the end of the “Ro-Ko” (Rohit-Kohli) pair in domestic cricket this season. However, despite the absence of Virat and Rohit, several major Indian stars will be seen on the field in this round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The return of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer will add to the excitement of the matches.

Shreyas Iyer was sidelined for a long time due to an injury sustained during the Australia tour last October, while Gill will play his first competitive match since being dropped from India’s T20 World Cup squad. Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul will also be in action. The presence of these big names is expected to draw a significant crowd to the stadium.