Karnataka Vijay Hazare Trophy Squad

The Vijay Hazare Trophy Karnataka squad for 2025-26 brings together 16 cricketers selected to represent Karnataka in India's premier domestic one-day competition. Organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Vijay Hazare Trophy is the national List A championship, and Karnataka were drawn in Group A for the 2025-26 edition, which ran from 24 December 2025 to 18 January 2026. The side was led by Mayank Agarwal, with Karun Nair as vice-captain.

Karnataka Cricket Background

To understand the Vijay Hazare Trophy Karnataka squad, it helps to know the cricketing culture behind it. Karnataka is among India's elite domestic sides, producing Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, and Mayank Agarwal. Their coaching system is regarded as India's best. Multiple Ranji Trophy titles and consistent deep VHT runs define their pedigree. Karnataka's batting is technically immaculate, and their bowling attack has exceptional variety across pace and spin. They are perennial title contenders with one of the deepest benches.

Karnataka in Vijay Hazare Trophy History

Karnataka have won the Vijay Hazare Trophy 5 times (2013–14, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2019–20 and 2024–25). That makes Karnataka joint record holders for the most titles in the history of the competition. Karnataka players have also led the tournament's individual charts: Robin Uthappa (2012–13, 2013–14), Manish Pandey (2014–15), Mayank Agarwal (2017–18) and Devdutt Padikkal (2019–20) all topped the run charts; Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun and Vasuki Koushik have each finished as the edition's leading wicket-taker.

Karnataka Campaign in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26

In the Group A stage, Karnataka played 7 matches, winning 6 and losing 1, to finish 1st in the group on 24 points with a net run rate of +0.544. Their victories came against Jharkhand (by 5 wickets), Kerala (by 8 wickets), Tamil Nadu (by 4 wickets), Puducherry (by 67 runs), Tripura (by 80 runs) and Rajasthan (by 150 runs). They were beaten by Madhya Pradesh.

Karnataka qualified for the knockouts. In the quarter-final against Mumbai on 12 Jan 2026, Karnataka won by 55 runs (VJD method). In the semi-final against Vidarbha on 15 Jan 2026, Vidarbha won by 6 wickets. Karnataka finished the season as Semi-finalists.

Karnataka Squad Composition

Looking at the Vijay Hazare Trophy Karnataka squad by role, the specialist batters are Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, R Smaran and Harshil Dharmani; the wicketkeeping options are KL Shrijith and BR Sharath; the all-rounders are Shreyas Gopal and Abhinav Manohar; the bowling group features Prasidh Krishna, V Vyshak, Manvanth Kumar, Shreesha Achar, Dhruv Prabhakar and Abhilash Shetty. Selectors aim for this kind of balance so that Karnataka can adapt their playing XI to different pitches, opponents and match situations across the tournament.

Key Performers for Karnataka in 2025-26

Abhinav Manohar scored 253 runs at a strike rate above 145 for Karnataka. Mayank Agarwal captained defending champions Karnataka to the semi-finals and scored 420 runs with two hundreds. Karun Nair, the top run-scorer of 2024-25, added 412 runs with three fifties for Karnataka in 2025-26. Devdutt Padikkal scored 725 runs with four hundreds in 2025-26 — the second-highest aggregate of the season — including 147 in Karnataka's 413-run chase against Jharkhand on the opening day. Abhilash Shetty took 17 wickets with two four-wicket hauls for Karnataka in 2025-26.

Leadership and Team Balance

Mayank Agarwal captained the Vijay Hazare Trophy Karnataka squad, supported by vice-captain Karun Nair. In one-day cricket the captain's decisions on bowling changes, field settings and batting order can swing a match, and Karnataka relied on that leadership throughout the Group A campaign.

Karnataka's home ground is M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. The 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy group matches were played at BCCI-designated centres, but the home venue remains the centre of cricket in the state and where the Karnataka cricketing community follows the team most closely.

Follow Karnataka on Vijay Hazare Trophy

Fans following the Vijay Hazare Trophy Karnataka squad can track every match on our Vijay Hazare Trophy live score page, check fixtures on the Vijay Hazare Trophy schedule, compare standings on the points table, and explore batting and bowling leaders on the stats and records pages. Squads for every other state are available on the Vijay Hazare Trophy teams page.

The Vijay Hazare Trophy Karnataka squad reflects the depth of Indian domestic cricket, where one-day performances regularly open doors to the IPL and national selection. This page is updated with the latest Karnataka squad details, player roles and results so that supporters always have a complete picture of the team.