Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 promises a star-studded season — a look at international cricketers set to feature this year.
The 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy is shaping up as one of the most high-profile domestic List A seasons in recent memory, with multiple India internationals returning to the grind in a bid to stay relevant for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
The tournament is scheduled from December 24, 2025 to January 18, 2026 with 38 teams split into four elite groups and one plate group. The presence of so many big names is poised to turn it into a box-office event.
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Star-studded squads light up domestic stage
Rohit Sharma will turn out for Mumbai, a side that also includes Shardul Thakur as captain and Sarfaraz Khan among the middle-order options. Rohit is officially confirmed to play at least the first two games of the league phase.
Virat Kohli will be back in Delhi colours, lining up in a squad captained by Rishabh Pant. The side also features senior pacers Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini and exciting quick Harshit Rana, giving Delhi one of the most high-profile domestic cores of the season.
From Punjab, Shubman Gill returns to anchor the top order in a power-packed batting group that includes Abhishek Sharma as an aggressive all-format top-order option. Prabhsimran Singh, Naman Dhir and Ramandeep Singh will be around, while the new-ball duties will be shared by left-armer Arshdeep Singh and all-round spin-bowling threat Harpreet Brar.
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Ishan Kishan leads Jharkhand, where he will keep wicket and bat in the top order. He will be supported by the likes of Virat Singh, Anukul Roy and Kumar Kushagra as Jharkhand ride the confidence of their recent T20 success into the 50-over format.
Maharashtra are banking on Ruturaj Gaikwad as captain at the top, with an experienced batting line-up around him including Prithvi Shaw, Rahul Tripathi and Ankit (Ankeet) Bawne. They also have emerging all-round talents such as Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Arshin Kulkarni.
Baroda’s squad is headlined by Hardik Pandya, who slots in as a middle-order lynchpin and seam-bowling all-rounder under the captaincy of his elder brother Krunal Pandya. Hardik adds serious white-ball pedigree to a group that also features Jitesh Sharma and Vishnu Solanki.
Bengal’s attack is boosted by the presence of Mohammed Shami, who returns to domestic 50-over cricket alongside India seam partner Mukesh Kumar and white-ball quick Akash Deep. Abhimanyu Easwaran will be captaining the side from the top order.
Karnataka’s line-up includes senior batter Karun Nair, back in the limelight in a squad captained by Mayank Agarwal. The side also features Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul and leg-spinning all-rounder Shreyas Gopal in a very experienced batting unit.
With this cluster of star power spread across Mumbai (Rohit, Shardul), Delhi (Kohli, Pant, Harshit), Punjab (Gill, Abhishek, Arshdeep), Jharkhand (Ishan), Maharashtra (Ruturaj), Baroda (Hardik), Bengal (Shami) and Karnataka (Karun, Rahul), the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 is set up to be a frenzy of packed grounds, heavy broadcast interest and heightened pressure on every game as international-grade players collide in the domestic arena.
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Why are these stars back?
The immediate trigger for this star-studded turn is the BCCI’s hardened stance that future India selection will increasingly run through domestic performances, rather than reputation or IPL alone.
Senior officials and selection chatter recently have underlined that centrally contracted and fringe India players are expected to make themselves available for tournaments like the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Ranji Trophy if they want to remain in contention for national call-ups.
The most recent high-profile example held up in selection discussions has been Ishan Kishan, whose prolific 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy run-scoring and title-winning campaign for Jharkhand is widely seen as having pushed him firmly back into the T20I frame and eventually into the T20 World Cup squad.
That precedent has not been lost on senior pros. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both now retired from Test and T20I cricket and focusing solely on ODIs, know that the 50-over format is played much less frequently in the current calendar. This means fewer international innings to prove form and fitness before the 2027 ODI World Cup.
For them, domestic one-day tournaments like the Vijay Hazare Trophy become crucial platforms to maintain rhythm, adjust to evolving team plans and demonstrate that they still belong at the heart of India’s ODI batting order in what will likely be their last World Cup cycle.
The same logic applies, though with different stakes, to the younger internationals scattered across teams. Players such as Gill, Abhishek, Ishan, Ruturaj, Arshdeep, Shardul, Hardik, Shami, Pant and others have either recently been in and out of India XIs or are jostling for specific roles. Each of them understands that a stacked Vijay Hazare season can be a direct audition in conditions similar to India’s 50-over internationals.
With only two Vijay Hazare Trophy editions left before the 2027 World Cup, it is almost mandatory for fringe and senior players alike to put up handsome numbers and match-winning spells if they wish to secure or reclaim their spots in the national squad.
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Stakes for 2027 ODI World Cup
The calendar context adds another layer of importance. With the ODI format squeezed between high-revenue T20 leagues and a busy Test programme, India’s 50-over series are limited, and the selection committee has signalled that big World Cup decisions will lean heavily on domestic evidence.
That means run tallies, averages, strike-rates and impact innings in the Vijay Hazare Trophy carry more weight than usual, especially for players who are competing in crowded roles.
For Rohit and Kohli, the path is clear yet demanding. Every domestic outing becomes both a fitness statement and a form-check, given their reduced ODI workload and the natural scrutiny around age heading into 2027.
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