Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two of India's best batsmen, will play again on Wednesday for Delhi and Mumbai, respectively, in the first round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. While Rohit last participated in the competition in 2018, Kohli will be making his maiden appearance in the domestic List A event in fifteen years.

Rohit and Kohli are expected to play in the tournament's first two games. Mumbai will play Sikkim at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on the first day of the 2025–26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, and then they will play Uttarakhand at the Anantham Stadium.

In the meantime, Delhi, which also has Rishabh Pant, will start its campaign at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru against Andhra Pradesh before playing Gujarat there in its subsequent game.

Fans won't be able to watch the two play, though; their games will not be shown on television or live-streamed.

This is to be blamed on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) limitations with its ability to broadcast matches. On the first day of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 domestic tournament, all 38 teams will play, with 19 games set to start at the same time.

At the moment, the BCCI has only two venues that have full-fledged broadcasting facilities—the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. This is the main reason why VHT matches featuring Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma won’t be televised or live-streamed.

It is important to remember, meanwhile, that similar limitations initially prevented Delhi's Ranji Trophy match against Railways from being telecast.

After Kohli confirmed his availability at the Arun Jaitley Stadium at the last minute, the game was finally made available for live streaming. It's unclear if the BCCI will make a similar decision this time, considering fan desire.

Additionally, because the Center of Excellence (CoE) has the required broadcast capabilities, all Vijay Hazare Trophy knockout matches at the venue will be televised.

Rohit Sharma’s fans will be able to see him in action at the SMS Stadium in Jaipur. Virat Kohli fans are not so fortunate, as Delhi’s game against Andhra Pradesh will be played behind closed doors after the match was shifted from the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to the CoE.

(Hindustan Times inputs)