BCCI comes clean on whether Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were nudged to play Vijay Hazare Trophy: ‘They decided’

The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 is all set to be a blockbuster as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma gear up to play a few matches ahead of the New Zealand series.

The rumour mills can be put to rest. It is now common knowledge that both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be playing a few matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 edition. Both senior players have been in good form over the last two months, with Rohit winning the Player of the Series award against Australia and Kohli taking home the same accolade for his performance against South Africa. For the last few months, there has been intense scrutiny over the duo's future and whether they can make the African safari for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during the third ODI cricket match against South Africa. (PTI)

Before the series against Australia, several reports claimed that the duo would be asked to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy if they harbour dreams of playing the World Cup. Following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy loss earlier this year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made it mandatory for centrally contracted players to participate in domestic cricket whenever the schedule and time allow.

However, the Indian cricket board has finally come clean about whether the two stalwarts of the game were nudged to play the premier domestic 50-over tournament. According to RevSportz, a BCCI official shook his head when asked whether the board nudged the two seniors to play some domestic matches.

“They have decided, it’s their decision,” the official said in his response.

It is also worth mentioning that Rohit and Virat played a Ranji Trophy game earlier this year in January, before eventually calling time on their Test careers, just days before the squad announcement for the England tour.

Kohli agrees to play Vijay Hazare Trophy

Last week, Virat Kohli confirmed his participation in the Vijay Hazare Trophy by informing the Delhi and District Cricket Association. The same was confirmed to the publication by the DDCA President Rohan Jaitley.

On the other hand, Rohit Sharma is also expected to turn out for Mumbai in the upcoming tournament, which begins on December 24.

Recently, Kohli scored 302 runs in the three-match series against South Africa while Rohit returned with 146 runs. Kohli scored two centuries and one half-century while Rohit hit two fifties.

In the previous series against Australia, Rohit hit one century and one fifty while Kohli slammed one half-century after back-to-back ducks in the opening two games.

Despite this recent performance, India's head coach Gautam Gambhir remained tight-lipped on whether the two modern-day greats will be playing the 2027 World Cup or not.

"They are world-class players and their experience is important in the dressing room. They’ve been doing it for a long time. Hopefully, they can continue doing the same, which is going to be important in the 50-over format,” said Gambhir.

“First you got to realise that the ODI World Cup is two years away. It’s important to stay in the present, and that young boys coming into the set-up grab their opportunities,” he added.