India’s Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill will play two matches for Punjab in the 2025-26 edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy before joining Team India for a three-match ODI series against New Zealand. The 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy will be played from December 24 to January 18, whereas the three ODIs between India and New Zealand are scheduled on January 11 in Vadodara, January 14 in Rajkot and January 18 in Indore.
According to a report in the Times of India on Tuesday (December 23), Gill will play Punjab’s Elite Group C Vijay Hazare Trophy matches against Sikkim and Goa in Jaipur on January 3 and 6, respectively, and then, after the conclusion of the India-New Zealand series, will also represent his domestic side in the remaining group matches of the Ranji
Trophy.
“Shubman will be playing the two games in January – on the 3rd and 6th – before joining the team for the ODI series versus New Zealand. He also wants to play the remaining rounds of the Ranji Trophy for Punjab,” a Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) official was quoted as saying by TOI.
Gill has decided to take part in the premier domestic red-ball tournament after he was dropped from India’s T20I squad on Saturday.
The 26-year-old right-handed batter from Punjab was the vice-captain of India’s T20I team in the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa, but due to his poor form with the bat and team combination, the senior men’s selection committee decided to drop Gill for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand as well as the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Since Gill won’t be involved in the T20Is, he will have time to play first-class matches for his domestic side.
In the second half of the Ranji Trophy, Punjab are scheduled to face Saurashtra in Rajkot from January 22, and then from January 29, they will face Karnataka in Mullanpur.
As of now Punjab are sixth in the Elite Group B points table, and their chances of qualifying for the knockouts are almost over. But if they secure back-to-back wins with bonus points in their last two matches and other teams lose, then they can still finish in the top two and qualify for the knockouts.
