Virat Kohli to Play Third Vijay Hazare Trophy Match Ahead of New Zealand ODI Series

NEW DELHI: Star Indian batter Virat Kohli is set to represent Delhi in their Vijay Hazare Trophy clash against Railways on January 6 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru, DDCA president Rohan Jaitley confirmed to PTI on Monday.

While the BCCI mandates that centrally contracted players participate in at least two matches, Kohli has chosen to feature in a third game to fine-tune his preparation ahead of India’s home series against New Zealand.

"As of now, he is playing. Virat has made himself available for three matches," Jaitley told PTI.

Kohli has delivered impressive performances in his first two appearances for Delhi, scoring 131 and 77 runs. In the process, he became the fastest batter in history to reach 16,000 List A runs, achieving the milestone in his 330th innings and surpassing Sachin Tendulkar, who reached the landmark in 391 innings.

The upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand is scheduled to begin at the same venue on January 11.

In parallel, as previously reported by PTI, a senior all-rounder will be rested from the series in accordance with workload management plans prepared by the sports science team. Both players are expected to play key roles for India in the home T20 World Cup, commencing on February 7.