The Duleep Trophy is back with a new edition in 2026. The tournament also marks the start of India’s long 2026-27 domestic cricket season.
So here’s all you need to know about the Duleep Trophy 2026.
What’s the Duleep Trophy?
For starters, the Duleep Trophy is a first-class tournament, similar to the Ranji Trophy. The only difference is that zonal teams compete in it, instead of state teams. And it’s played on a knockout basis.
The tournament derives its name from the former cricketer, Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji. He played for England in Tests while aggregating over 15,000 runs in first-class cricket.
The tournament has been played since 1961-62, providing fringe India players with an excellent opportunity. Read more about Duleep Trophy’s history here.
Alright. When does the Duleep Trophy 2026 begin?
The 63rd edition of the Duleep Trophy starts on August 23, 2026. East Zone and North East Zone will compete in one quarter-final, while North Zone and West Zone will square off in the other.
How many teams will participate in the Duleep Trophy 2026?
Apart from the four mentioned above, Central Zone and South Zone round out the participating teams.
Both teams will directly compete in the semi-finals, thanks to their participation in last edition’s final. Central Zone are the defending champions.
What’s the format of the Duleep Trophy 2026?
As mentioned earlier, the tournament follows a knockout format. East, North East, North and West zone teams will compete in the quarter-finals.
The winners of the quarter-finals will then proceed to the semi-finals to face Central Zone and South Zone. The final will pit two semi-final winners against each other.
In all, five red-ball matches will take place. The quarter-finals and the semi-finals are four-day fixtures. The final, meanwhile, will take place over five days.
Which venues will host the Duleep Trophy 2026?
The entire tournament will take place at Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence grounds. Ground 1 will host one quarter-final, one semi-final and the final, while Ground 2 will stage one quarter-final and one semi-final.
Here are the venues:
- BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) Ground 1, Bengaluru
- BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) Ground 2, Bengaluru
What’s the complete schedule for the Duleep Trophy 2026?
So after the quarter-finals, the semi-finals will take place between August 30 and September 2. The tournament final will start on September 6. All matches will start at 9:30 AM.
Duleep Trophy 2026 Schedule
| Date | Match | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23-26, 2026 | Quarter-Final: East Zone vs North East Zone | CoE 2 | 9:30 AM |
| Aug 23-26, 2026 | Quarter-Final: North Zone vs West Zone | CoE 1 | 9:30 AM |
| Aug 30-Sep 2, 2026 | Semi-Final 1: Central Zone vs TBA | CoE 1 | 9:30 AM |
| Aug 30-Sep 2, 2026 | Semi-Final 2: South Zone vs TBA | CoE 2 | 9:30 AM |
| Sep 6-10, 2026 | Final | CoE 1 | 9:30 AM |
Ongoing & Upcoming Series Schedule:
Sri Lanka vs India Test Series 2026: Schedule
England vs Pakistan Test Series 2026: Schedule
Australia vs Bangladesh Test Series 2026: Schedule
Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2026: Schedule
Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2026: Schedule
World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 Full Schedule
Indian Men’s Cricket Team 2026 Schedule
India Men’s Cricket Team 2026-27 Home Season Schedule
Indian Women’s Cricket Team 2026 Schedule
Australia Men’s Cricket Team 2026 Schedule
Australia Men’s Cricket Team 2026-27 Home Season Schedule
Australia Women’s Cricket Team 2026-27 Home Season Schedule
England Men’s Cricket Team 2026 Schedule
England 2026 Home Season Schedule
England Women’s Cricket Team 2026 Home Season Schedule
South Africa Men’s Cricket Team 2026 Schedule
South Africa 2026-27 Home Season Schedule
New Zealand Men’s Cricket Team 2026 Schedule
Pakistan Men’s Cricket Team 2026 Schedule
India’s ODI Schedule Till 2027 Cricket World Cup
Australia’s ODI Schedule Till 2027 Cricket World Cup
South Africa’s ODI Schedule Till 2027 Cricket World Cup
England’s ODI Schedule Till 2027 Cricket World Cup
What about the squads?
Here are the squads of all six zonal teams for the Duleep Trophy 2026:
North Zone
Kanhaiya Wadhawan (Captain & Wicketkeeper) (Jammu & Kashmir), Ayush Badoni (Vice-captain) (Delhi), Sanat Sangwan (Delhi), Yash Dhull (Delhi), Ayush Doseja (Delhi), Nishant Sindhu (Haryana), Anshul Kamboj (Haryana), Nikhil Kashyap (Haryana), Qamran Iqbal (Jammu & Kashmir), Abdul Samad (Jammu & Kashmir), Abid Mushtaq (Jammu & Kashmir), Sunil Kumar (Jammu & Kashmir), Yudhvir Singh (Jammu & Kashmir), Arshdeep Singh (Punjab), Arjun Sharma (Services).
Central Zone
Rajat Patidar (Captain) (Madhya Pradesh), Rinku Singh (Vice-captain) (Uttar Pradesh), Ayush Pandey (Chhattisgarh), Saransh Jain (Madhya Pradesh), Aryan Pandey (Madhya Pradesh), Arshad Khan (Madhya Pradesh), Kunal Singh Rathod (Wicketkeeper) (Rajasthan), Aryan Juyal (Wicketkeeper) (Uttar Pradesh), Zeeshan Ansari (Uttar Pradesh), Kunal Chandela (Uttarakhand), Aman Mokhade (Vidarbha), Yash Rathod (Vidarbha), Harsh Dubey (Vidarbha), Yash Thakur (Vidarbha), Nachiket Bhute (Vidarbha).
South Zone
Tilak Varma (Capain) (Hyderabad), Ricky Bhui (Vice-captain & Wicketkeeper) (Andhra), SK Rasheed (Andhra), K Sai Teja (Andhra), T Vijay (Andhra), Abhinav Tejrana (Goa), K Himateja (Hyderabad), T Thyagarajan (Hyderabad), R Smaran (Karnataka), Karun Nair (Karnataka), Shreyas Gopal (Karnataka), V Kaverappa (Karnataka), MD Nidheesh (Kerala), N Jagadeesan (Wicketkeeper) (Tamil Nadu), Aman Khan (Pondicherry).
East Zone
Ishan Kishan (Captain & Wicketkeeper) (Jharkhand), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Vice-Captain) (Bihar), Denish Das (Assam), Abhimanyu Easwaran (Bengal), Sudip Kumar Gharami (Bengal), Shahbaz Ahmed (Bengal), Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (Bengal), Mohd Shami (Bengal), Mukesh Kumar (Bengal), Kumar Kushagra (Wicketkeeper) (Jharkhand), Shikhar Mohan (Jharkhand), Anukul Roy (Jharkhand), Virat Singh (Jharkhand), Subhranshu Senapati (Odisha), Abhijit Sarkar (Tripura).
West Zone
Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain) (Maharashtra), Shams Mulani (Vice-captain) (Mumbai), Atit Sheth (Baroda), Shivalik Sharma (Baroda), Jaymeet Patel (Gujarat), Urvil Patel (Wicketkeeper) (Gujarat), Siddharth Desai (Gujarat), Prithvi Shaw (Maharashtra), Mukesh Choudhary (Maharashtra), Shardul Thakur (Mumbai), Musheer Khan (Mumbai), Tushar Deshpande (Mumbai), Tanush Kotian (Mumbai), Harvik Desai (Wicketkeeper) (Saurashtra), Jay Gohil (Saurashtra).
North East
Jonathan Rongsen (Captain) (Nagaland), Bishworjit Singh Konthoujam (Vice-Captain) (Manipur), Techi Neri (Arunachal Pradesh), Priyojit K (Manipur), Ronald Meitei (Manipur), Jotin Singh Pheiroijam (Manipur), Kishan Lyngdoh (Meghalaya), Arpit Subhas (Wicketkeeper) (Meghalaya), Akash Kumar Choudhary (Meghalaya), Joseph Lalthankhuma (Mizoram), Lalrempouia (Mizoram), Imliwati Lemtur (Nagaland), Vino G Zhimomi (Nagaland), Robin Limboo (Sikkim), Ashish Thapa (Wicketkeeper) (Sikkim).
Where to watch the Duleep Trophy 2026?
Indian fans can watch the Duleep Trophy 2026 on Star Sports TV channels and JioHostar. You can also follow the live scores on the BCCI’s official website.
Read Next | Indian Women’s Cricket Team 2026 Complete Schedule
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.