The 2025-26 Duleep Trophy begins on August 28 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, launching the Indian domestic season. This will be the 62nd edition of the tournament, first held in 1961-62 and won by West Zone. Over the years, it has mostly followed a knockout format (45 editions), with occasional league (7) and league-cum-knockout (9) structures.
After last year’s experiment with India A, B, C, and D teams in a round-robin format, the event returns to the traditional zonal knockout system featuring North, South, East, West, Central, and NorthEast Zones.
The competition is set to feature stars such as Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, and Tilak Varma, though reports suggest India captain Shubman Gill, slated to lead North Zone, may miss out as he is part of India’s Asia Cup squad.
Historically, West Zone and North Zone dominate the tournament with 19 titles each, including three shared crowns apiece.
Here is all you need to know about the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy:
When is the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy?
The 2025-26 Duleep Trophy will be played from August 28 to September 11.
Where is the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy being held?
The 2025-26 Duleep Trophy will be held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
What is the format of the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy?
The 2025-26 Duleep Trophy will follow a knockout format. North Zone vs East Zone and Central Zone vs NorthEast Zone will contest the quarterfinals. The winners meet South Zone and West Zone in the semifinals, with the two finalists advancing to the title clash.
What is the schedule of the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy?
Quarterfinal 1: August 28-31, 2025: North Zone vs East Zone
Quarterfinal 2: August 28-31, 2025: Central Zone vs NorthEast Zone
Semifinal 1: September 4-7, 2025: South Zone vs Winner QF1
Semifinal 2: September 4-7, 2025: West Zone vs Winner QF2
Final: September 11-15, 2025: Winner SF 1 vs Winner SF 2
2025-26 Duleep Trophy latest squads (subject to change)
South Zone: Tilak Varma (c), Mohammed Azharuddeen (vc), Tanmay Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, Narayan Jagadeesan, Tripurana Vijay, R Sai Kishore, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Nidheesh MD, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, Snehal Kauthankar. (Standbys: Mohit Redkar, R Smaran, Ankit Sharma, Edhen Apple Tom, Andre Siddarth, Shaikh Rasheed)
West Zone squad: Shardul Thakur (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aarya Desai, Harvik Desai (wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jaymeet Patel, Manan Hingrajia, Saurabh Nawale (wicket-keeper), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmandrasinh Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswala. (Standbys: Mahesh Pithiya, Shivalik Shama, Mukesh Choudhary, Siddharath Desai, Chintan Gaja, Urvil Patel, Musheer Khan)
East Zone squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Riyan Parag (vc), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Aasirwad Swain (wk), Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Mukhtar Hussain and Mohammed Shami.
North Zone squad: Shubman Gill (c), Shubham Khajuria, Ankit Kumar (vc), Ayush Badoni, Yash Dhull, Ankit Kalsi, Nishant Sandhu, Sahil Lotra, Mayank Dagar, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Kanhaiya Wadhawan. (Standbys: Shubham Arora (wk), Jaskaranvir Singh Paul, Ravi Chauhan, Abid Mushtaq, Nishunk Birla, Umar Nazir, Divesh Sharma)
Central Zone squad: Dhruv Jurel (c/wk), Rajat Patidar, Aryan Juyal, Danish Malewar, Sanjeet Desai, Kuldeep Yadav, Aditya Thakare, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pandey, Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed. (Standbys: Madhav Kaushik, Yash Thakur, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Mahipal Lomror, Kuldeep Sen, Upendra Yadav)
NorthEast Zone: Jonathan Rongsen (c), Akash Kumar Choudhary, Techi Doria, Yumnum Karnajit, Sedezhalie Rupero, Ashish Thapa, Hem Bahadur Chetri, Jehu Anderson, Arpit Subash Bhatewara, Pheroijam Jotin Singh, Palzor Tamang, Ankur Malik, Bishworjit Singh Konthoujam, Aryan Borah, Lamabam Ajay Singh. (Standbys: Kamsha Yangfo, Rajkumar Rex Singh, Bobby Zothansanga, Dippu Sangma, Pukhrumbam Prafullomani Singh, Lee Yong Lepcha, Imliwati Lemtur)
Published on Aug 27, 2025
