| Country | India |
|---|---|
| Administrator | BCCI |
| Cricket format | First-class cricket |
| First | 1961–62 |
| Last | 2024–25 |
| Current | 2025–26 Duleep Trophy |
| Next | 2026–27 |
| Tournament format | Round-robin or Knockouts |
| Participants | various |
| Champions | Central Zone (7th title) |
| Most successful | West Zone (19 titles) |
| Most runs | Wasim Jaffer (2545) |
| Most wickets | Narendra Hirwani (126) |
| Website | BCCI |
The Duleep Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in India. Named after former cricketer Duleepsinhji, the competition has usually been contested by teams representing various geographical zones of India since the first tournament in 1961–62. There have been a few exceptions to the zonal format, such as the 2002–03 tournament, where five teams were formed based on Ranji Trophy groups, and the four editions held between 2016–17 and 2019–20, when the BCCI selected three teams called India Blue, Red and Green. The latest 2024-25 edition featured four teams named Team A, B, C and D.[1]
History
The competition was established by the BCCI in the 1961–62 season. The tournament was contested between the different geographical zones of India namely, North, South, East, West and Central. The inaugural tournament was won by West Zone who defeated South Zone in the final by ten wickets.[2] In the 1962–63 season, four of the five teams except Central Zone included a West Indies Test cricketer as a part of the teams.[3][4]
The original format was that the five teams played each other on a knock-out basis. From the 1993–94 season, the competition converted to a league format before moving back to the knock-out format for four seasons.[5] The tournament again reverted to a league format for three seasons from 2000–01.[6] For the 2002–03 season, the zonal teams were replaced by five teams representing respective Ranji Trophy groups but the format lasted only one season.[7] From the 2003–04 season, the five original zonal teams competed along with a sixth guest team which was a touring foreign team. The first guest team was England A in 2003–04.[8] From the 2009-10 season, the guest team was dropped, with the original five-team knockout tournament being used until the 2014–15 season.[9]
The championship was not held in 2015–16 but returned to in 2016–17 with a new format where three teams chosen by the BCCI took part, designated as Blue, Green and Red.[10] The teams played a round-robin tournament, with the top two advancing to the final. All games were staged as day-night games and used pink cricket balls. The trophy was cancelled for three seasons due to COVID-19 and the zonal format returned when it was re-started in 2022-23 with the original five zonal teams joined by a new North East Zone.[11]
The 2024-25 format deviated from recent editions by featuring four teams: India A, India B, India C, and India D, instead of the traditional zonal teams. The tournament followed a round-robin format with no knockout stage. The team with the maximum points at the end of the round-robin stage won the tournament. The teams were composed of a mix of experienced and emerging players selected by national selectors. [1][2]
| Team | Captains |
|---|---|
| India A | Captained by Shubman Gill (later replaced by Mayank Agarwal due to international duties) |
| India B | Captained by Abhimanyu Easwaran |
| India C | Captained by Ruturaj Gaikwad |
| India D | Captained by Shreyas Iyer. |
Composition of teams
Under the usual zonal system, each team is a composite of cricketers who play for the Ranji Trophy teams situated in that region of India:[12]
Winners
West Zone, with 19 trophies, is the most successful team in the competition.[13]
Statistics
Appearances by team
| Team | Matches | Win | Loss | Draw | Last appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Zone | 113 | 58 | 34 | 21 | 2023 |
| North Zone | 110 | 52 | 33 | 25 | 2023 |
| South Zone | 107 | 46 | 39 | 22 | 2023 |
| Central Zone | 100 | 27 | 45 | 28 | 2023 |
| East Zone | 89 | 19 | 46 | 24 | 2023 |
| India Red | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2019 |
| India Blue | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2019 |
| India Green | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2019 |
| Elite Group A | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2003 |
| Elite Group B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2003 |
| Elite Group C | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2003 |
| Plate Group A | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2003 |
| Plate Group B | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2003 |
| England A | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2008 |
| Sri Lanka A | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2006 |
| India A | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2024 |
| India B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| India C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| India D | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2024 |
| Bangladesh Board XI | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2005 |
| Zimbabwe Board XI | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2005 |
| North East Zone | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Source: ESPNcricinfo[14] | |||||
Finals appearances by team
| Team | Wins | Appearances | Win % | Last win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Zone | 19 | 33 | 57.57 | 2022/23 |
| North Zone | 18 | 26 | 65.38 | 2013/14 |
| South Zone | 13 | 23 | 52.17 | 2023 |
| Central Zone | 6 | 16 | 34.37 | 2014/15 |
| East Zone | 2 | 7 | 28.57 | 2012/13 |
| India Blue | 2 | 3 | 66.67 | 2018/19 |
| India Red | 2 | 4 | 50.00 | 2019/20 |
| Elite C | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | 2002/03 |
| Plate B | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | – |
| Sri Lanka A | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | – |
| India Green | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | – |
Note: The Wins include the shared trophies and the win percentage counts shared as half a win.
Records and statistics
| Batting | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Most runs | Wasim Jaffer | West Zone, Elite B | 2545 |
| Highest score | Raman Lamba | North Zone | 320 v West Zone (1987/88) |
| Most runs in a tournament | Raman Lamba | North Zone | 659 (1987/88) |
| Highest average | Raman Lamba | North Zone | 86.25 |
| Most ducks | Ashok Dinda | East Zone, India Green, India Red | 8 |
| EAS Prasanna | South Zone | 8 | |
| Ashok Mankad | West Zone | 8 | |
| Narendra Hirwani | Central Zone, Plate B | 8 | |
| Most hundreds | Anshuman Gaekwad | West Zone | 9 |
| Most fifties (and over) | Wasim Jaffer | West Zone, Elite B | 21 |
| Highest partnership | VVS Laxman & Rahul Dravid (3rd wicket) | South Zone | 409 v West Zone |
| Bowling | |||
| Most wickets | Narendra Hirwani | Central Zone, Plate B | 126 |
| Best bowling figures in an innings | Debasis Mohanty | East Zone | 10/46 v South Zone |
| Best bowling figures in a match | Debasis Mohanty | East Zone | 14/91 v South Zone |
| Most wickets in a series | Narendra Hirwani | Plate Group B | 34 (2002/03) |
| Most 5 wickets in an innings | Narendra Hirwani | Central Zone, Plate B | 8 |
| Most 10 wickets in a match | Narendra Hirwani | Central Zone, Plate B | 2 |
| Fielding | |||
| Most dismissals (wicket-keeper) | Parthiv Patel | West Zone, Elite C, India Green | 88 (68 catches and 20 stumpings) |
| Most dismissals in a match (wicket-keeper) | Sameer Dighe | West Zone | 10 (6 catches and 4 stumpings) |
| Most catches (fielder) | Wasim Jaffer | West Zone, Elite B | 41 |
| Team | |||
| Highest score | North Zone | v West Zone | 868 (1987/88) |
| Lowest score | North Zone | v South Zone | 48 (1961) |
| East Zone | v South Zone | 48 (1969) | |
| Individual | |||
| Most matches | Mohinder Amarnath | North Zone | 31 (1969–1988) |
| Most matches as captain | Hanumant Singh | Central Zone | 15 (1966–1975) |
| Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan | South Zone | 15 (1970–1979) | |
| Most matches as an umpire | Suresh Shastri | 13 (1993–2013) | |
Most runs
| Player | Team(s) | Span | Mat | Inns | Runs | Ave | HS | 100 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wasim Jaffer | Elite B, West Zone | 1997–2013 | 30 | 54 | 2545 | 55.32 | 173* | 8 | 13 |
| Vikram Rathour | North Zone | 1993–2002 | 25 | 45 | 2265 | 51.47 | 249 | 6 | 11 |
| Anshuman Gaekwad | West Zone | 1974–1987 | 26 | 42 | 2004 | 52.73 | 216 | 4 | 2 |
| Ajay Sharma | North Zone | 1984–1997 | 26 | 37 | 1961 | 57.67 | 202 | 7 | 9 |
| Akash Chopra | Central Zone, North Zone, Elite A | 1997–2011 | 24 | 43 | 1918 | 53.27 | 205* | 6 | 8 |
| Source: ESPNcricinfo[15] | |||||||||
Most wickets
| Player | Team(s) | Span | Mat | Inns | Wkts | Ave | Econ | SR | BBI | BBM | 5 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narendra Hirwani | Central Zone, Plate B | 1987–2004 | 29 | 45 | 126 | 34.12 | 2.99 | 68.4 | 7/129 | 12/200 | 8 | 2 |
| Sairaj Bahutule | West Zone, Elite B | 1993–2006 | 30 | 48 | 112 | 26.76 | 2.84 | 56.4 | 6/41 | 9/114 | 4 | 0 |
| B. S. Chandrasekhar | South Zone | 1963–1979 | 24 | 41 | 99 | 24.30 | 2.81 | 51.7 | 8/80 | 10/183 | 7 | 1 |
| Source: ESPNcricinfo[16] | ||||||||||||
Broadcasters
Viacom18 holds the media rights to domestic tournaments, including the Duleep Trophy, from 2023 to 2028; Sports18 is the official television broadcaster, while matches are also streamed for free on the JioCinema platform.[17]
References
- ^ "Duleep Trophy 2024: Full Schedule, Squads, Match timings, and Venue Details". FantasyKhiladi. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
- ^ "Final, Duleep trophy 1961-62". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ Mohan, R & Mohan, Mohandas (2005). Cricket in India. Alton: Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. p. 1450. ISBN 0-947766-89-8.
- ^ "Most wickets, Duleep trophy 1962-63". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Duleep trophy 1993-94". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Duleep trophy 2001-02". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Duleep Trophy to revert back to old format". ESPNcricinfo. 1 September 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2007.
- ^ "Duleep trophy, 2003-04". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Duleep trophy, 2009-10". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Duleep trophy, 2015-16". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Duleep trophy, 2022-23". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Duleep trophy squads". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Duleep trophy, 2023". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Result summary". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ^ "Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ "Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ "Viacom18 secures exclusive media rights for BCCI domestic & international cricket in India for Rs 5,963 crore". Retrieved 25 August 2024.