Not Vijay Hazare Trophy, India A games prioritised by 'some in BCCI' for Kohli, Rohit's ODI future; Agarkar to decide

Hindustan Times

4 days ago

With the tour of England over and no international cricket scheduled for India until the Asia Cup next month in the UAE, fresh speculation has gripped Indian cricket, triggered by a media report that hinted Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's international future could end in October. It further said that if they intend to prolong their ODI career and stay relevant for selection in the Indian team for the 2027 ODI World Cup, they need to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Will Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma play in 2027 ODI World Cup?(PTI)
However, a fresh report in the PTI said that there is a "school of thought in the BCCI" that is more concerned about whether the two will play in India A matches in the 50-over format, with the Vijay Hazare Trophy unlikely to see their participation owing to the overlapping international schedule.
Kohli and Rohit retired from T20Is in June last year after India lifted the World Cup in Barbados. Later in May this year, they announced their sudden goodbye from the Test format just weeks before India's tour of England, leaving them active international cricketers only in the ODI format.
They were expected to return to international action for the first time since the Champions Trophy in March in the tour of Bangladesh, but the series was cancelled. India's next ODI assignment will be an away series against Australia from October 19-25. Ahead of the series, a section in the BCCI reportedly wants Kohli and Rohit to gear up for the tour by playing a couple of India A games at home when the Australia A team — which will have Jake Fraser-McGurk in its ranks — tours. The three matches will be played in Kanpur on September 30, October 3 and October 5, at the same time the senior team plays the first Test against the West Indies in Ahmedabad.
Why Kohli and Rohit won't be able to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy?
A Dainik Jagran report on Monday said the two stalwarts of ODI cricket will need to play domestic cricket to stay relevant for selection and remain match-ready. However, both will have already played six ODIs before the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which starts on December 24, with contests against Australia and South Africa scheduled beforehand. Additionally, the three ODIs against New Zealand (January 11, 14, 18) will overlap with the domestic List A tournament schedule.
"Even if they play the Vijay Hazare Trophy, they would have already played six ODIs before that. Between the Australia and South Africa ODI series, there is an India A series against South Africa A with three List A games (50 overs) at Rajkot on November 13, 16, and 19," a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
The BCCI source further stressed the final decision lies in the hands of the BCCI selection committee.
"Now, the question is whether the duo will want to play those three A games, or possibly two, before the South Africa series. Even more important is whether Ajit Agarkar and his colleagues would want that," he added.
"Overlapping with the Vijay Hazare Trophy (December 24, 2025 – January 18, 2026) are the three ODIs between India and New Zealand (January 11, 14, 18). So even if they play the Vijay Hazare Trophy, it can't be for more than two to three games," he said.