Our Bureau
Mumbai
The Vijay Hazare One-Day Trophy kicks off today with unprecedented star power, as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma headline a stellar lineup including Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, compelled by BCCI’s mandate for senior players to feature in at least two matches. Rohit confirmed he’ll play Mumbai’s opening games against Sikkim and Uttarakhand in Jaipur on December 24 and 26, while Kohli, absent from the tournament for 15 years, eyes Delhi’s Elite Group D opener versus Andhra in Bengaluru.
This domestic grind arrives amid shifting sands in Indian cricket, where even icons like the “Ro-Ko” duo face pressure from a hungry younger brigade. Selectors’ recent snub of Gill for the T20 World Cup in favor of Ishan Kishan’s Syed Mushtaq Ali exploits signals no one is untouchable, pushing Kohli and Rohit to rediscover form ahead of January’s ODIs against New Zealand. Pant seeks white-ball redemption after a year-long ODI/T20I absence since August 2024, while Gill captains Punjab as a warm-up for his New Zealand ODI leadership.
Subplots abound: selectors scour young pacers like Gurjapneet Singh (Tamil Nadu) and Yudhvir Singh (J&K) to bolster India’s inconsistent support attack behind stars like Prasidh Krishna. Delhi’s venue hangs on Karnataka’s nod between M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, with Kohli’s training stint alongside Sanjay Bangar fueling speculation he’ll suit up immediately.
