Vijay Hazare Trophy: a dash of Ro-Ko, SKY under scrutiny, big chance for contenders

The last time Virat Kohli played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India hadn't won their second men's ODI World Cup, in 2011, Sachin Tendulkar was still India's ODI opener, MS Dhoni was ODI and Test captain, and Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were far from done. And Kohli himself hadn't yet worn India's whites.

Nearly 16 years on, Kohli (and Rohit Sharma) have retired from two formats, and are only active in ODIs, a format that's often the third most important in the cricket calendar. With scrutiny on their longevity sharper than ever, their return - Rohit last featured in the tournament in 2017-18 - signals clear intent to keep pushing towards the 2027 World Cup, thereby lending the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy an automatic lift in profile.

However, unlike last year, when Kohli's return to the Ranji Trophy attracted large crowds over three days at the Feroz Shah Kotla, fans in Bengaluru will not have a similar opportunity. Originally scheduled to be held in Alur, and then at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the matches have been moved to BCCI's Centre of Excellence to avoid overcrowding around the Chinnaswamy, which is still dealing with the aftermath of the stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2025 victory celebrations earlier this year.

Kohli's decision to play comes after weeks of speculation, but his return also coincides with a rich vein of form. He was the Player of the Series against South Africa late last month, hitting two hundreds and an unbeaten half-century. Rohit, too, offered strong evidence that he remains far from a spent force with a superb hundred in Australia, followed by two half-centuries in three innings against South Africa.

Beyond the Ro-Ko headline, the tournament offers a timely opportunity for embattled T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, whose dip in form has dragged on longer than he would have hoped. Over the past year, Suryakumar has averaged a mere 12.84 and struck at only 117.87 in T20Is, with no half-centuries across 22 innings while batting at Nos. 3 and 4.

With India's T20I series against New Zealand only beginning on January 21, Suryakumar is set to feature in the opening few matches. He has maintained that he has been striking the ball well in the nets, but this stage gives him a chance to prove that the fluency translates into runs.

Unlike Kohli or Rohit, who will be available only for the first few games, the tournament also offers a great runway for Rishabh Pant to make a statement, much like Ishan Kishan did during a barnstorming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season that eventually paved way for his T20I return at Jitesh Sharma's expense. With Pant sidelined from T20Is and ODIs for now - it's been over a year since he played either format - he'll have an opportunity to play the entire stretch of group fixtures (seven of them), and the knockouts (if Delhi qualify).

While what Kohli and Pant, both part of Delhi, do will be at the centre of everyone's focus in Bengaluru, the spotlight will also be on Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Ranchi, where matches will be played. Over the years, the Vijay Hazare Trophy has proven to be extremely competitive - that there have been five winners over the past five seasons is proof of that.

Karnataka are the defending champions, and have been boosted by Karun Nair's return. Nair struck a record-breaking 779 runs in eight innings, averaging a mind-boggling 389.5 including six centuries, in last season's tournament to force his way back into national reckoning. A solid back-end of the Ranji campaign further helped him earn a Test recall after eight years.

Similarly, strong showings by Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy, second and third on the wicket-takers' charts, paved the way for their comebacks into the 50-over side. Both were part of India's Champions Trophy-winning squad soon after their Hazare exploits. In fact, Varun wasn't even in the mix until a late call on the eve of their ODI series against England had him stay back with the squad; he was then the second-highest wicket-taker during India's run to the Champions Trophy title.

Sure, the IPL auction is done, but strong performances in the 50-overs competition may yet prove useful auditions not just with the national selectors watching, but also for IPL teams who need to line up potential replacements.

R Smaran, who made a match-winning century in last year's final against Vidarbha, earned a late call up into the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad after an injury to Adam Zampa. Mayank Agarwal, who captained Karnataka to the title, was picked by RCB as a late replacement and ended up playing crucial cameos in their run to their maiden IPL crown.

Conditions, too, could play a decisive role in shaping such opportunities. With dew expected to have a significant bearing on results, all matches, including the knockouts, will start at 9am. While the move is designed to minimise weather- and dew-induced mismatches, the early starts could place renewed importance on the toss, with fast bowlers likely to come into play straightaway.