Delhi currently facing Railway in their second last Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2025-26 Elite Group D match at KSCA Ground, Aloor. led by Rishabh PantDelhi lost the toss and Railways asked to bowl first. However, the major talking point of the morning has been its absence Virat KohliWho were widely expected to feature in this crucial second final group-stage encounter.
For this reason, Virat Kohli is not playing for Delhi today in the match against Railways in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26.
Despite earlier confirmation DDCA President Rohan Jaitley Delhi coach says Kohli will play three matches Saran Deep Singh It was confirmed just before the match that the star batsman was unavailable, effectively ending his domestic stint for the season.
“Virat is not available. Pant and Harshit will play tomorrow,” NDTV Sports quoted Delhi’s head coach as saying this.
The main reason for Kohli’s absence is that he has already fulfilled the BCCI’s mandatory participation rule. Under the board’s 2025–26 guidelines, centrally contracted players were required to appear in at least two domestic matches to remain eligible for the national team. Kohli performed strongly in both his matches and played a brilliant inning of 131 runs. Andhra Pradesh And against a quick-fire 77 GujaratAfter proving both his match fitness and great form, surpassing the milestone of 16,000 List A runs in the process, the team management decided that his quota had been met, with new zealand As the series approaches, the priority has shifted from domestic match time to ensuring he is fresh for international duties.
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Kohli’s dominance before the ODI series against New Zealand in 2025!
Kohli’s withdrawal from the Railways game is a calculated move to manage his workload in advance Three match ODI series against New ZealandStarting from 11th January in Vadodara. Both Kohli and Pant are scheduled to travel to Baroda tomorrow, January 7, to join the Indian team. While Pant heads to Delhi today for a final tune-up, Kohli has opted for a brief recovery period before entering the high-intensity international bubble. After a brilliant 2025 where he dominated South Africa In the series where he scored two brilliant centuries and a half-century, which earned him the Player of the Series award, Kohli is considering the upcoming domestic season as an important step in this direction. one day world cup 2027Making peak physical condition your top priority compared to third home presence.
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