Kohli to Dhoni: List of players with longest gap between two List A matches

The modern cricket calendar leaves little room for domestic 50-over tournaments, even for the game’s biggest names. As international cricket consumes more months of the year, many stars have found themselves going nearly a decade—or more—without featuring in a non-ODI List A fixture. This rare trend resurfaced at the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, which marked high-profile comebacks for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli following lengthy domestic white-ball breaks. Their participation also came after a firm BCCI directive mandating that all centrally contracted Indian players must turn out in domestic cricket when not on national duty.

 

Notably, Kohli and Rohit both played ODIs shortly after their Vijay Hazare appearances, aligning with the BCCI’s push to keep top players match-ready and connected to the domestic ecosystem. They not only played in the Vijay Hazare but also created a unique record, as Kohli now holds the record for the longest gap between two List A matches, previously held by New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum. Rohit, on the other hand, is now third on the list, as he overtakes another former India skipper, MS Dhoni, on this list. 

Players with longest gap between two List A match appearances:

Player	Start	End	ODI Matches
Virat Kohli	13-Oct-2013	06-Dec-2025	195
Brendon McCullum	08-Sep-2009	29-Mar-2015	96
Rohit Sharma	21-Oct-2018	06-Dec-2025	91
Sachin Tendulkar	15-Oct-2006	02-Apr-2011	86
MS Dhoni	03-Sep-2011	25-Oct-2015	84
Mitchell Johnson	03-Feb-2008	28-Oct-2011	82
Mohammad Nabi*	15-Mar-2018	14-Oct-2025	82
Quinton de Kock*	24-May-2017	06-Dec-2025	82
Matthew Hayden	22-Mar-2002	22-Feb-2005	81
Hardik Pandya	04-Jun-2017	19-Nov-2023	79
Jos Buttler*	10-Oct-2018	01-Nov-2025	78
Jasprit Bumrah*	04-Jun-2017	19-Nov-2023	77
Rashid Khan*	15-Mar-2018	14-Oct-2025	77
David Warner	12-Jan-2014	11-Jul-2019	77
Hashim Amla	23-Jul-2013	04-Mar-2017	77
(* refers to ongoing streak)

The disappearing art of domestic 50-over cricket

Domestic List A cricket once served as the training ground for ODI success. Between 1991 and 1995, nearly half of all List A games involving top international players were domestic fixtures. Since 2021, however, more than 70% of List A matches played by established ODI cricketers have been ODIs alone, highlighting a sharp shift in priorities. The decline isn’t limited to India—tour games, board trophies, and domestic cups have been squeezed or scrapped entirely across major nations.

Kohli and Rohit: Long domestic droughts broken by mandate

Kohli’s Vijay Hazare appearance for Delhi against Andhra last week was his first non-ODI List A outing since 2013—ending an extraordinary sequence of 195 straight ODIs without any 50-over domestic game in between. The gap between his last two non-ODI List A matches stands at 12 years and 86 days, the longest among players with 70-plus ODI caps.

 

Rohit Sharma, too, returned to Vijay Hazare action after seven years, playing for Mumbai against Sikkim. His previous domestic one-day match came in 2018. Coincidentally, both players were also part of India’s ODI assignments shortly after, reaffirming the BCCI’s objective: ensuring players maintain 50-over rhythm even when bilateral series dominate schedules.