The Vijay Hazare Trophy is starting again. Usually, this line barely causes a ripple outside domestic circles. This year, it feels different. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back in state colours. After a long gap. Not to relive old memories or chase attention. BCCI has asked all fit players to play. The New Zealand series is around the corner and timing matters. You cannot borrow rhythm. You have to earn it. But when players of this size return to local grounds, the moment becomes larger than preparation. It becomes personal.
The last time Virat Kohli played for Delhi
Virat last played the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Delhi in the 2009-10 season. Fifteen years ago. He was not a global name then. He was a young captain, loud with intent, still learning control. Delhi played five matches. Virat scored 229 runs. A decent return. Nothing dramatic.
His final game came on 18 February 2010 against Services. He scored 16 off eight balls. Delhi scored 311 and won comfortably. Still, they did not qualify. Haryana and Punjab went ahead. Domestic cricket can be blunt like that. It does not care who you are becoming.
Across his Vijay Hazare career, Virat played 17 matches for Delhi. He scored 910 runs at an average above 60. Four hundreds. Four fifties. A highest score of 124. The numbers quietly say he always belonged at this level.
2009 tournament that made Virat Kohli a star
The real shift came a season earlier. The 2009 Vijay Hazare Trophy. Seven innings. 534 runs. Four hundreds. An average touching 90. A strike rate over 100. This was not noise. This was clarity.
That tournament opened the India door and Virat walked straight through it. After that, he did not return to domestic one-day cricket. There was always another series. Another tour. Another responsibility.
Now he comes back with 15,999 List A runs. One more run and he joins a club only Sachin Tendulkar belongs to for India. His numbers stand tall on their own. He has played 342 List A matches and averages over 57. Fifty-seven hundreds and eighty-four fifties sit next to his name. There are no doubts about form either. In his last four ODIs, he went past fifty every time. Two centuries came against South Africa, followed by an unbeaten 65 in the decider. India won the series. This is not a man searching for touch. This is a man keeping it sharp.
Rohit Sharma’s last walk for Mumbai felt unfinished
Rohit Sharma last played the Vijay Hazare Trophy in October 2018. He turned up only for the knockouts. Quarter-final and semi-final. Against Bihar, he scored 33 not out while chasing a small target. In the semi-final against Hyderabad, he made 17 Mumbai lifted the trophy that season. Rohit was not there for the final because international duty called. The chapter closed without fuss. Like a sentence without a full stop.
This time, he will feature in the league games on December 24 and 26. Sikkim first. Uttarakhand next
2011 World Cup snub that hurt Rohit
Rohit’s most powerful Vijay Hazare memory comes from 2011. He was left out of the World Cup squad. It hurt. Deeply. On 13 February, Mumbai played Saurashtra.
Mumbai bowled first. Rohit picked up Four wickets for 28 runs. Saurashtra were kept to 205. Then Mumbai collapsed to 45 for 5. For a while, the game seemed to be drifting away. But Rohit stayed there. He scored an unbeaten 96. Chased the target with six balls left.
No press conference. No statement. Just a match-winning performance when his pride was bruised. That season, he scored 217 runs in five innings at an average above 54. Domestic cricket did what it often does best. It absorbed anger and turned it into shape.
Why this return feels heavier than usual
This tournament is a build-up to the New Zealand ODIs starting January 11. BCCI wants every senior player match-ready. That is the official reason.
But something else is happening. Young players will share dressing rooms with two men who have carried Indian batting for over a decade. They will see how preparation looks without cameras. How seriousness does not need speeches.
Fans will watch them at smaller grounds. No VIP boxes. No long build-ups. Just cricket. That matters.
Two journeys that crossed again
Virat left domestic cricket as a young leader chasing standards. He returns chasing 16,000 runs. Rohit left as a senior player who missed the final. He returns as a player who wants to play next World Cup final in 2027.
In 2025 ODIs, both are India’s leading run scorers. Rohit sits on top of the ICC ODI batting rankings with 781 points. Virat follows close behind at 773. Different styles. Same weight of expectation.
One found his launch here. The other found his fight here. Now both are back where it all began. The Vijay Hazare Trophy will write a new chapter for two old warriors.
