Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hit the ground running on their return to domestic cricket, notching up centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Representing their domestic teams, both batters looked fluent and assured, putting to rest any chatter around form or age. Their innings lifted their sides and served as a timely reminder that experience and ambition still go a long way in Indian cricket.
Rohit produced a blistering 155 from just 94 deliveries as Mumbai cruised to an eight-wicket win over Sikkim, while Kohli followed it up with a commanding 131 off 101 balls to power Delhi past Andhra Pradesh’s 298 in just 37.4 overs. Kohli also reached a major milestone, becoming the quickest batter to cross 16,000 List A runs, achieving the mark in 330 innings and eclipsing Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 391 innings.
Veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh praised Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for featuring in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, pointing out how valuable their presence is for domestic cricket. He underlined the influence senior players have on youngsters, saying sharing a dressing room with stars like Kohli and Rohit provides unmatched learning and confidence for emerging talents.
“It’s good to see, really good to see, that big players are also turning up for tournaments like these. When you go and play alongside domestic players, obviously it boosts their confidence as well. Kohli going into Delhi’s dressing room is obviously a big, big learning experience for all those kids sitting there. It’s a huge lesson for them to see what Kohli does,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
“Similarly, Rohit Sharma has gone into Mumbai’s dressing room. Although Mumbai has always been a very big team and has won a lot, I still feel that Kohli playing and Rohit playing is, in itself, a very big thing,” he added.
“Scoring a hundred here is a big deal in itself”
Harbhajan also stressed the importance of both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma converting their domestic outings into big scores. He explained that centuries in competitive conditions, not nets, build habits that stay with players across formats, calling their runs a strong and meaningful sign ahead of bigger challenges.
“And both of them are scoring runs, which is a good sign. It doesn’t matter who you are playing against, but what matters are the conditions on the ground. This isn’t net practice. Scoring a hundred here is a big deal in itself. It becomes a habit, a good habit. When you know how to score runs, when you know how to make hundreds, that’s a good habit to have. It doesn’t matter whether you are playing domestic cricket, international cricket, or even fewer matches, because that same thing is what you carry forward. And for them today, this is a really big thing,” he concluded.
