The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken a firm step to reinforce the importance of domestic cricket by mandating that all current national team players feature in at least 2 matches of the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, which begins on December 24. The move comes amid a three-week international break between India’s final T20I against South Africa in Ahmedabad on December 19 and the opening ODI against New Zealand on January 11, 2026.
With no international commitments during this window, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee wants India’s senior cricketers to remain match-ready through competitive domestic cricket rather than opting for rest.
The directive has been formally communicated to all centrally contracted players and is part of a broader policy shift following India’s disappointing Test tour of Australia earlier this year, where a post-series review stressed the need for greater engagement with domestic formats.
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Senior stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have already confirmed their availability for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, sending out a strong message. Other key players, including Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav, have also been instructed to represent their respective state teams for a minimum of two one-day games. Shreyas Iyer remains the only exception at this stage, as he continues his recovery and may require additional time before returning to competitive action.
Some #IndianCricketTeam news
Since there is a three week gap between conclusion of SA series (Dec 19) and commencement of NZ ODIs (Jan 11), all national team players have been asked to play at least 2 rounds of #vijayhazaretrophy. So it is not just “Ro-Ko”, the rule is same and…— Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) December 15, 2025
“There are six rounds of Vijay Hazare Trophy scheduled before the New Zealand ODIs. Players and state associations can mutually decide which two games they want to play,” a senior BCCI official told PTI. “But after the second T20I in Mullanpur, it was clearly conveyed that playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy is not optional.”
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Exemptions will only be granted if a player is deemed unfit by the Centre of Excellence, although officials believe the recovery window after the South Africa series is more than adequate. Importantly, the directive also aims to put to rest speculation that head coach Gautam Gambhir and the selectors are singling out veterans like Kohli and Rohit.
By making domestic participation compulsory for everyone, the BCCI has underlined that the rules apply equally, regardless of stature or experience.
