As he gets ready to play for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2025–2026, Indian veteran cricketer Virat Kohli is expected to make a comeback to domestic cricket. Fans and the cricket community are very excited about the former India captain’s return to the domestic structure. He last played for Delhi during the Ranji Trophy 2024–25 season.
At first, Delhi’s Vijay Hazare Trophy matches were supposed to take place at the renowned M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. The Times of India writes, however, that all games will now only be played at the CoE facility, postponing Kohli’s much awaited return to the Chinnaswamy Stadium in his native colours.
With its top-notch facilities and infrastructure for player development, the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru has become an important centre for Indian cricket. The arena presently hosts a number of domestic matches, giving both young and seasoned players the perfect setting to hone their skills. If Delhi’s games are played at the CoE, it will be Kohli’s first time playing competitively there, and both he and his teammates are certain to remember the occasion.
It’s interesting that Kohli’s return has a special twist.
Hearing that Delhi’s #VijayHazareTrophy matches in Bengaluru will be held at CoE, and not the Chinnaswamy 🏟..it looks like #ViratKohli𓃵 will play soon fr the first time at #BCCI CoE facility!
— Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) December 23, 2025
When not on international assignments, centrally contracted players must compete in domestic competitions in accordance with BCCI regulations. Kohli will compete in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in accordance with this directive, giving the Delhi team invaluable experience and leadership. During the competition, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will head the team, with Kohli occupying a senior position in the starting eleven.
During the ODI series against South Africa, when he had a fantastic run of form and scored two hundreds and a half-century in the three-match series, Kohli was last seen playing for India. He will try to have a significant impact for Delhi in domestic cricket before going back to playing for his country. Kohli is anticipated to play in India’s three-match ODI series against New Zealand, which is set to start on January 11, after the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
The Delhi team for the Vijay Hazare Trophy’s opening two games
Virat Kohli, Arpit Rana, Yash Dhull, Sarthak Ranjan, Priyansh Arya, Tejasvi Singh (wk), Nitish Rana, Hrithik Shokeen, Harsh Tyagi, Simarjeet Singh, Prince Yadav, Divij Mehra, Ayush Doseja, Vaibhav Kandpal, Rohan Rana, Ishant Sharma, and Navdeep Saini. Standby wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat
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