Virat Kohli refuses to play in Vijay Hazare Trophy as BCCI doctrine suffers Blow: Report

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Virat Kohli has declined to participate in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy despite BCCI's encouragement, placing the board in a challenging position as Rohit Sharma has confirmed his availability for Mumbai.

This decision has come to light amid the growing tension in the Indian team setup, particularly between Kohli and head coach Gautam Gambhir over the batter's future role.​

National selector Pragyan Ojha has been sent to Raipur for the second ODI against South Africa to address the deteriorating relationship between Kohli and Gambhir.

Sources indicate Kohli's reluctance stems from his philosophy against excessive preparation, as he stated post the first ODI in Ranchi: "I've never been a believer in a lot of prep. All my cricket has been mental. I work physically very hard, as long as my fitness levels are up, and then you visualise batting and feeling well, it's good".​

The BCCI remains firm against special exemptions for Kohli, emphasizing uniform treatment for all players, especially since Rohit is also committing to domestic duties like the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 matches.

"The issue is with the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He ([Kohli] simply doesn't want to play. When Rohit [Sharma] is also playing, how can there be an exception for one player? And what do we tell the other players? That someone is different from all of you?," a report from NDTV quoted a source saying.

However, sources later informed myKhel that the former India captain is going to participate in the competition.