Rohit Sharma To Play In Vijay Hazare Trophy? Star Cricketer Set To Return For Mumbai After Sri Lanka ODIs: Report

Rohit Sharma has told the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) that he will be available for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in December, The Indian Express reported.

He is expected to join only after India’s three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka at home from December 13 to 19. The matches are scheduled in Delhi, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, with the first ODI falling a day before the domestic tournament begins.

“He has informed us that he will be playing for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and to consider him available after India’s three-ODI series against Sri Lanka at home. How many matches he will be available for, he will inform us later,” an MCA source said, as reported by The Indian Express.

Tournament Window

The dates leave Sharma with a narrow opening. The Vijay Hazare Trophy league stage runs from December 14 to 29 and the knockouts are scheduled from January 2 to 8.

The Sri Lanka ODIs are followed by three T20Is from December 22, which Sharma will not play. That gives him the last 10 days of the league stage to turn out for Mumbai.

India start their three-ODI series against Zimbabwe on January 3. The league matches will be played in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Ranchi and Rajkot, and the knockouts are set for Visakhapatnam. The final ODI against Zimbabwe is at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on January 9.

Previous Mumbai Stint

He has done this before. Last season Sharma made himself available for Mumbai and played two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches in Jaipur.

Those were his first appearances in the tournament since 2018. He hammered 155 off 94 balls against Sikkim in the first game and fell for a golden duck against Uttarakhand two days later.

Before that return, Sharma had played 18 matches for Mumbai in the tournament. He now plays only one format for India after retiring from T20Is in 2024 and Tests in 2025.

Franchise Leadership Return

A bigger role may also await him in the IPL. Mumbai Indians are likely to hand Sharma the captaincy again for IPL 2027.

Under Hardik Pandya, Mumbai Indians lost 10 of 14 matches in the last IPL and finished ninth. The franchise’s wait for a title has now stretched to six years.

Sharma led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles, a mark matched only by MS Dhoni. “A source said he first suggested Tilak Varma’s name, but agreed when the franchise asked him to take over.”

New Zealand Series Prep

Sharma’s immediate task is with India. He is part of the ODI squad for the five-match series in New Zealand, which starts next week.

He trained at the MCA-BKC ground a few days ago. India have no ODIs scheduled between the Zimbabwe series and the IPL, so any Vijay Hazare matches would give him match practice before next year’s ODI World Cup.