 "Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: Seven big names to watch out for")
Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 begins Wednesday, December 24 with some of the biggest names in Indian cricket participating in country’s premier 50-over competition. 32 domestic teams have been divided into four groups with the top two sides from all four groups making it to the quarterfinals.
The final of the tournament will be played in Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence on Sunday, January 18. BCCI has already mandated for all contracted players to participate in domestic tournaments and thus this year’s Vijay Hazare Trophy will have some of the biggest names in Indian cricket. Here we look at a few big names that you should have an eye on in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Virat Kohli
The biggest name in the mix is that of Kohli who will be returning to the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time since 2010. Kohli has the most hundreds in the history of One Day Internationals and comes into the tournament on the back of a Player of the Series performance against South Africa in the recent series. He will be leaving the tournament to play the ODIs against New Zealand from January 11.
Rohit Sharma
The second biggest name in the list is of Rohit Sharma. He too had a fruitful series against South Africa. In fact, in the very first match, he broke the record of Shahid Afridi to become the player with most sixes in ODIs. More sixes can be expected as he is likely to open for a strong Mumbai side in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He too will leave after two games for the New Zealand series.
KL Rahul
KL Rahul, who hit two half-centuries in the recent India vs South Africa ODI series, will be in action for defending champions Karnataka in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. He last played the tournament in the 2019-20 season where he hit an unbeaten half-century in the final to guide Karnataka to the title. He is likely to play in the middle order for Karnataka as well.
Shubman Gill
Gill would be eager to shrug away the disappointment of getting dropped out of the T20 World Cup with a powerful performance at the Vijay Hazare Trophy. With an ODI batting average of 56.36, Gill is among the best players of the 50-over batters in the world and would play a key role in Punjab’s top order this time.
Arshdeep Singh
The leading wicket-taker of last year’s Vijay Hazare Trophy, Arshdeep Singh will once again spearhead Punjab’s bowling attack with his sharp left-arm pace. His availability could be limited due to India’s white-ball fixtures against New Zealand that starts January 11.
Abhishek Sharma
Abhishek remains one of the players to watch out for in all of cricket right now and he will be opening for Punjab in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. The left-hander had a fantastic season last time and had since become India’s favoured opener in T20Is. Bowlers will have a tough time trying to contain Abhishek’s shots.
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View AllRishabh Pant
Pant has not played ODIs since 2024 and he would be eager to put out big performances in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy to push himself back into contention. He will be captaining the Delhi side and can be expected to play the full season as he remains out of the T20I and ODI set-ups.
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