Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-2026: Groups, teams, venues, broadcast details – Everything you need to know as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma return to national duty

The 2025-2026 Vijay Hazare Trophy promises to be much more than a routine one-day domestic tournament, with the charismatic presence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma lending unprecedented gravitas to the competition which begins on Wednesday, December 24. For the first time in years, India’s biggest stars will share the national stage with the next generation, shining a spotlight on the country’s white-ball pipeline.Go beyond borders with our YouTube channel. REGISTER NOW!Kohli and Rohit lead a star-studded field that also includes Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav and Abhishek Sharma. Yet, none attract as much attention as the famous duo, whose participation follows the BCCI directive making it mandatory for centrally contracted players to feature in at least two Vijay Hazare matches. For Kohli, it marks his return to the tournament after 15 years, while Rohit’s appearance underlines the changing power dynamics in Indian cricket.

Rohit confirmed that he will play Mumbai’s first two matches against Sikkim and Uttarakhand in Jaipur on December 24 and 26. Kohli, who trained in Mumbai under former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar, is expected to turn out for Delhi in the elite Group D, with their opening matches scheduled in Bengaluru against Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Pant, a Test certainty, will be eager to revive his white-ball credentials after not featuring in ODIs or T20Is since August 2024. Gill, overlooked for the T20 World Cup squad, will look to channel that disappointment into runs for Punjab, especially with an ODI captaincy assignment against New Zealand looming.The selectors will also keep a close eye on the young bowling talents. With no pacer making a breakthrough like Siraj in recent seasons, this edition could be crucial for names like Gurjapneet Singh (Tamil Nadu), Gurnoor Brar (Punjab), Yudhvir Singh (J&K), Anuj Thakral (Haryana) and Sakib Hussain (Bihar).Format and teamsThe Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-2026 comprises 38 teams in the Elite and Plate categories. The Elite division consists of 32 teams divided into four groups of eight, with each team playing a round-robin league. The top two teams from each Elite group advance to the quarter-finals, followed by the semi-finals and the final. The Plate group is made up of six teams, with promotion and relegation in effect for next season.Elite groups

Locations and timesThe matches will be hosted in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Alur, Jaipur and Rajkot with all matches scheduled to begin at 9 am.Live broadcast and streamingThe Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 will be broadcast live on Star Sports Network in India, while live streaming will be available on the JioHotstar app and WBSuite.