The Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) is a 50-over domestic tournament organised annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The tournament represents one-day domestic cricket, similar to other formats of tournaments like the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
All teams participating in the Ranji Trophy also participate in this tournament. This tournament provides a platform for limited-overs cricketers from their respective states to showcase their talent.
Almost all Indian cricketers who performed well in this tournament went on to make it to the Indian national team. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that this is the tournament from which India’s future ODI cricketers emerge.
This helps in selecting the best players for the ODI format. Players who perform well in these matches are then called up for further selection in regional cricket associations, the National Cricket Academy (NCA), the IPL, India A, etc.
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Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) History
The tournament was played only at the regional level until 2002–03, when it was expanded into a national competition.
Until 2006/07, the Vijay Hazare Trophy was the title of a national under-19 tournament involving regional teams, which had been running since 1983/84.
The BCCI then decided to rename the Ranji ODI Trophy, which began in the 1993/94 season, In honour of the death of Vijay Hazare on 12 December 2004. The 2007/08 edition was the first to use the current title.
This is a 50-over tournament played in a round-robin format, where all the teams are divided into several groups and the top two teams from each group play against each other in the knockout stages.
Before the 2018/19 edition, teams were divided into three Elite Groups and one Plate Group. The two Elite Groups consisted of nine teams, while the third consisted of the long-standing teams. The Plate Group included nine new teams.
Teams were grouped based on their average points earned over the previous three seasons. A total, 38 teams participate, representing a broad representation of Indian domestic cricket.
The 2020/21 edition was postponed for several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. But in January 2021, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that the Vijay Hazare tournament would be held.
The most successful teams since the expansion are Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, who have won the tournament five times each; Karnataka also won the last edition (2024-25).
Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT): Player Stats
Ankit Bawne is the highest run scorer of the tournament with 4010 runs, and Siddharth Kaul is the highest wicket taker of the tournament with 155 wickets.
Apart from them, star batsman N Jagadeesan, playing for Tamil Nadu in November 2022, scored an incredible 277 runs in 141 balls against Arunachal Pradesh, which became the highest score of this tournament.
Besides Jagadeesan, seven other players have also scored double-hundreds in this tournament.
Top 5 highest run scorers in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT):
| Player | Match | Runs | HS | Average | 100s |
| Ankit Bawne | 94 | 4010 | 184* | 56.47 | 15 |
| Dinesh Karthik | 79 | 3433 | 154* | 56.27 | 9 |
| Manish Pandey | 103 | 3403 | 142* | 44.77 | 2 |
| Priyank Panchal | 83 | 3395 | 136 | 42.97 | 8 |
| Mayank Agarwal | 71 | 3336 | 162 | 52.12 | 11 |
Top 5 Highest Wicket Takers in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT):
| Player | Match | Wicket | BBI | Average | 5-fer |
| Siddharth Kaul | 75 | 155 | 6/39 | 20.21 | 7 |
| Piyush Chawla | 81 | 137 | 6/46 | 24.35 | 2 |
| Rishi Dhawan | 92 | 130 | 6/27 | 28.32 | 2 |
| Rahul Shukla | 72 | 124 | 6/33 | 24.45 | 5 |
| Jaydev Unadkat | 86 | 122 | 5/23 | 29.07 | 2 |
Highest Scores for Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT):
| Player | Team | HS | Strike Rate | Opponent | Year |
| N Jagadeesan | Tamilnadu | 277 | 196.45 | Arunachal Pradesh | Nov 2022 |
| Prithvi Shaw | Mumbai | 227* | 149.34 | Puducherry | Feb 2021 |
| Rituraj Gaikwad | Maharashtra | 220* | 138.36 | Uttar Pradesh | Nov 2022 |
| Sanju Samson | Kerala | 212* | 164.34 | Goa | Oct 2019 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | Mumbai | 203 | 131.81 | Jharkhand | Oct 2019 |
Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT): All Winners
| Season | Winner | Runner-Up |
| 2002-03 | Tamilnadu | Punjab |
| 2003-04 | Mumbai | Bengal |
| 2004-05 | Tamil Nadu & Uttar Pradesh (Shared) | |
| 2005-06 | Railway | Uttar Pradesh |
| 2006-07 | Mumbai | Rajasthan |
| 2007-08 | Saurashtra | Bengal |
| 2008-09 | Tamilnadu | Bengal |
| 2009-10 | Tamilnadu | Bengal |
| 2010-11 | Jharkhand | Gujrat |
| 2011-12 | Bengal | Mumbai |
| 2012-13 | Delhi | Assam |
| 2013-14 | Karnataka | Railway |
| 2014-15 | Karnataka | Punjab |
| 2015-16 | Gujrat | Delhi |
| 2016-17 | Tamilnadu | Bengal |
| 2017-18 | Karnataka | Saurashtra |
| 2018-19 | Mumbai | Delhi |
| 2019-20 | Karnataka | Tamilnadu |
| 2020-21 | Mumbai | Uttar Pradesh |
| 2021-22 | Himachal Pradesh | Tamilnadu |
| 2022-23 | Saurashtra | Maharashtra |
| 2023-24 | Haryana | Rajasthan |
| 2024-25 | Karnataka | Vidarbha |
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