The BCCI has made it mandatory for all current national team players to feature in at least two one-day matches of the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, which begins on December 24.

With a three-week gap between India’s final T20I against South Africa in Ahmedabad on December 19 and the first ODI against New Zealand on January 11, 2026, the Board is keen that senior players utilise the window to play domestic cricket.

The directive has been communicated to the players by the Ajit Agarkar-led national selection committee.

The move follows the recommendations of a review conducted after India’s Test debacle in Australia earlier this year, which called for a stronger emphasis on domestic cricket across formats.

Veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have already conveyed their availability for the tournament. Other senior players, including Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, have also been instructed to play at least two matches for their respective state teams.

Barring Shreyas Iyer, who is expected to take longer to regain full fitness, the rest of the senior players are likely to turn out for their state sides.

"There are six rounds of Vijay Hazare Trophy scheduled between December 24 and start of the New Zealand ODIs. It is up to the players and their state associations to decide which two rounds they would like to play.

"But after the second T20I in Mullanpur, the players have been categorically told that playing Hazare isn't optional," a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Exemptions will be granted only if a player is declared unfit by the Centre of Excellence, although officials believe there is sufficient time for recovery following the South Africa series.

The decision is also seen as a way to counter the perception that the selection committee and head coach Gautam Gambhir are singling out Kohli and Rohit, despite the senior duo having little left to prove.

Making the Vijay Hazare Trophy mandatory for all players underlines that the same rules will apply uniformly.

Bumrah's close family member in hospital

Jasprit Bumrah was forced to fly back home for personal reasons ahead of the third T20I in Dharamsala. According to reliable sources, a very close family member of the pacer is currently hospitalised, prompting him to return home.

"If all goes well, then he might return for the fourth or even fifth game (in Ahmedabad). But first priority is recovery of his family member."

T20 WC and NZ series squad on same day

With the ICC having set a deadline for the announcement of the T20 World Cup squad, India’s teams for the global event and the preceding New Zealand series will be named on the same day, likely sometime in the first week of January.

"The squad that will be selected for the New Zealand T20Is will be the same that will be named for the T20 World Cup," the source added.