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The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 kicks off on December 24 as India’s premier domestic List A competition featuring 38 teams divided into elite and plate divisions. This edition gains massive attention with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma making rare comebacks after over a decade marking their return to domestic white-ball cricket. Karnataka enter as defending champions while centrally-contracted players face BCCI mandates to participate in at least two matches boosting the tournament’s prestige.
Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: Tournament format and star players
Organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) the tournament runs until January 18 2026 across venues in Ahmedabad Bengaluru Alur Jaipur and Rajkot. The elite category includes 32 teams split into four groups of eight where each plays a round-robin with top two per group advancing to quarterfinals followed by semifinals and final; the plate group has six teams with its winner promoted next season. All matches start at 9:00 AM IST (3:30 AM GMT) under a points system awarding four for wins two for no results and zero for losses factoring net run rate for ties.
Star attractions headline the squads with Kohli representing Delhi in Group D after his last appearance in 2010 targeting his 16000th List A run against Andhra Pradesh. Rohit too joins Mumbai in Group C for openers versus Sikkim and Uttarakhand in Jaipur fulfilling BCCI’s participation rule.
Rishabh Pant will also play for Delhi alongside Kohli aiming to revive white-ball form post his August 2024 international hiatus while Shubman Gill captains Punjab in Group C with Arshdeep Singh and Abhishek Sharma. Suryakumar Yadav features for Mumbai KL Rahul bolsters Karnataka and young talents like 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi vice-captains Bihar in plate.
Selectors eye pacers such as Gurjapneet Singh (Tamil Nadu) Gurnoor Brar (Punjab) Yudhvir Singh (J&K) Anuj Thakral (Haryana) and emerging allrounders amid no major fast-bowling breakthroughs recently.
Elite Group Teams
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Karnataka | Vidarbha | Maharashtra | Haryana |
| Rajasthan | Baroda | Punjab | Gujarat |
| Tamil Nadu | Bengal | Mumbai | Railways |
| Jharkhand | Hyderabad | Himachal Pradesh | Andhra Pradesh |
| Madhya Pradesh | Uttar Pradesh | Uttarakhand | Saurashtra |
| Puducherry | Assam | Goa | Delhi |
| Kerala | Chandigarh | Chhattisgarh | Services |
| Tripura | Jammu & Kashmir | Sikkim | Odisha |
Plate: Nagaland, Bihar, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh.
Also READ: KL Rahul, Prasidh Krishna bolster Karnataka squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy defense
Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: December 24 and 26 Schedule
The Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite 2025-26 features 119 List A matches from December 24, 2025, to January 18, 2026, across multiple venues in India. All games start at 9:00 AM IST (3:30 AM GMT). Below is the schedule matchdays December 24 and 26.
December 24 Matches
| Teams | Venue | IST | GMT |
| Puducherry vs Tamil Nadu | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Gujarat vs Services | KSCA Cricket (2) Ground, Alur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Andhra vs Delhi | BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1, Bengaluru | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Haryana vs Railways | KSCA Cricket (3) Ground, Alur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Odisha vs Saurashtra | KSCA Cricket Ground, Alur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Maharashtra vs Punjab | Anantam Ground, Jaipur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Chhattisgarh vs Goa | Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, Jaipur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Himachal Pradesh vs Uttarakhand | KL Saini Ground, Jaipur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Mumbai vs Sikkim | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Bengal vs Vidarbha | Sanosara Cricket Ground A, Rajkot | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Madhya Pradesh vs Rajasthan | ADSA Railways Cricket Ground, Ahmedabad | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Jharkhand vs Karnataka | Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground, Ahmedabad | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Kerala vs Tripura | Gujarat College Ground, Ahmedabad | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Chandigarh vs Jammu & Kashmir | Sanosara Cricket Ground B, Rajkot | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Assam vs Baroda | Niranjan Shah Stadium C, Rajkot | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Hyderabad vs Uttar Pradesh | Niranjan Shah Stadium, Khandheri, Rajkot | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
December 26 Matches
| Teams | Venue | IST | GMT |
| Goa vs Himachal Pradesh | Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, Jaipur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Mumbai vs Uttarakhand | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Chhattisgarh vs Punjab | Anantam Ground, Jaipur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Haryana vs Saurashtra | KSCA Cricket (2) Ground, Alur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Andhra vs Railways | KSCA Cricket Ground, Alur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Odisha vs Services | KSCA Cricket (3) Ground, Alur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Delhi vs Gujarat | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Maharashtra vs Sikkim | KL Saini Ground, Jaipur | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Chandigarh vs Uttar Pradesh | Sanosara Cricket Ground A, Rajkot | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Madhya Pradesh vs Tamil Nadu | Gujarat College Ground, Ahmedabad | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Jharkhand vs Rajasthan | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Puducherry vs Tripura | ADSA Railways Cricket Ground, Ahmedabad | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Karnataka vs Kerala | Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground, Ahmedabad | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Assam vs Jammu & Kashmir | Niranjan Shah Stadium, Khandheri, Rajkot | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Baroda vs Bengal | Niranjan Shah Stadium C, Rajkot | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
| Hyderabad vs Vidarbha | Sanosara Cricket Ground B, Rajkot | 9:00 AM | 3:30 AM |
Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: Broadcast and Live streaming details
Live telecast airs select matches on Star Sports Network with streaming on JioHotstar app & website and WB Suite. This star-infused edition spotlights India’s white-ball depth ahead of international commitments blending experience with youth in high-stakes 50-over battles.
Also WATCH: Virat Kohli elevates training intensity ahead of his historic Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 return
