Why is Virat Kohli Not Playing Today Vijay Hazare Trophy Match vs Railways?

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Why is Virat Kohli Not Playing Today Vijay Hazare Trophy Match vs Railways?: A crucial match is being played today between Delhi and Railways in Group D of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. However, cricket fans were disappointed when it became clear during the toss that Virat Kohli was not part of the playing XI for this match. Railways won the toss and elected to bat first, and the Delhi team took the field without Kohli.

Delhi coach had already mentioned it

Even before the match started, Delhi team's head coach and former spinner Sarandeep Singh had issued a statement regarding Kohli's availability. He had clarified that Virat Kohli would not be available for this match, while Rishabh Pant and Harshit Rana would play. Earlier, DDCA president Rohan Jaitley had indicated that Kohli might play the January 6th match, but at the last minute, he decided to take a break.

Why is Virat Kohli Not Playing? National Duty and NZ Series Focus

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The biggest reason behind Virat Kohli not playing today's match is the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand:

• National Duty: The three-match ODI series between India and New Zealand is scheduled to begin on January 11th.
• Joining Team India: Virat Kohli has been selected for the Indian team for this series. It is believed that he is preparing to join the national team camp soon, and therefore, under workload management, he decided to withdraw from this domestic match.

Also Read: Can Joe Root Break Sachin Tendulkar Record? A Statistical Analysis

Delhi Playing 11 vs Railways: Rishabh Pant Leads

In Kohli's absence, Rishabh Pant is captaining the team. Delhi's playing XI is as follows

1. Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper/captain)
2. Sarthak Ranjan
3. Priyansh Arya
4. Nitish Rana
5. Ayush Badoni
6. Tejaswi Dahiya
7. Harsh Tyagi
8. Harshit Rana
9. Prince Yadav
10. Ishant Sharma
11. Navdeep Saini

Kohli's performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy

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Although Kohli played only two matches this season, he proved his class:

• Against Andhra Pradesh: Played a magnificent century innings of 131 runs.
• Against Gujarat: Contributed 77 runs.
• During this time, he also set a world record for the fastest 16,000 runs in List A cricket, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar.

Also Read: Virat Kohli New Year 2026 Resolution: 4 Major Records He is Ready to Break