Fans are wondering if Virat Kohli will play for Delhi against Railways on Tuesday in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Kohli has already played Delhi’s first two matches in the domestic 50-over tournament and was expected to take part in this game as well.
However, his participation is now uncertain because he is part of India’s squad for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand. This match would have been his last preparation before the international games.
Kohli has been in excellent form this season. He scored 131 against Andhra, helping Delhi chase 299, and became the fastest player to reach 16,000 List A runs. He also scored 77 off 61 balls against Gujarat in a thrilling 7-run win, equalling the record for fastest to 1,000 Vijay Hazare Trophy runs.
Kohli confirmed unavailable
Initially, Kohli was scheduled to play three matches for Delhi. DDCA chief Rohan Jaitley had said he would play against Railways. But on Monday, reports confirmed he won’t be available.
Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh told Hindustan Times, “No, he is not available.” Rishabh Pant will lead Delhi in his absence.
Kohli has been in top form recently, scoring heavily in the ODI series against South Africa and winning the Player of the Series award. He is expected to play all three ODIs against New Zealand starting January 11 in Vadodara.
Rohit Sharma also out
Rohit Sharma has also played only two games in this year’s Vijay Hazare Trophy and won’t feature in the rest of the tournament. He scored a brilliant 155 in the first game for Mumbai against Sikkim but got out for a golden duck in the next match against Uttarakhand.
Even though Virat and Rohit will be absent, the tournament will still feature top players like Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. Gill missed Punjab’s previous game due to food poisoning but is expected to play against Goa. Shreyas Iyer will captain Mumbai after Shardul Thakur was ruled out with a calf injury.
Upcoming ODI series
India will start a three-match ODI series against New Zealand from January 11, with the first match in Vadodara. Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are part of the squad, and fans will be keen to see if they continue their excellent form in the one-day games at home.
India’s full ODI squad vs New Zealand
Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal