Duleep Trophy 2026-27 begins on August 23 with six zonal teams in action
Bengaluru hosts the early rounds, while Chennai’s Chepauk will stage the final
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi headline the squads
The Indian domestic season is ready to roll, and, as tradition demands, the red ball gets first dibs. The Duleep Trophy 2026-27 begins on August 23, bringing together six zonal teams and some of the biggest names and most intriguing names, in Indian domestic cricket.
From Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan to Rajat Patidar, Tilak Varma, Mohammed Shami and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, there will be plenty to keep an eye on.
The tournament returns with six zones: North, South, East, West, Central and North East. It will be played in a knockout format, so there is no long league stage where everyone gets a second chance to explain what went wrong. Central Zone, the defending champions, and last year's runners-up South Zone have received direct entry into the semi-finals, while the remaining four teams will battle in the opening round.
Duleep Trophy 2026-27 Schedule
All matches begin at 9:30 AM IST.
| Date | Match | Venue |
| August 23-26 | East Zone vs North East Zone | BCCI CoE Ground 2, Bengaluru |
| August 23-26 | North Zone vs West Zone | BCCI CoE Ground 1, Bengaluru |
| August 30-September 2 | Central Zone vs Winner of East Zone/North East Zone | BCCI CoE Ground 1, Bengaluru |
| August 30-September 2 | South Zone vs Winner of North Zone/West Zone | BCCI CoE Ground 2, Bengaluru |
| September 6-10 | Final | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
There has been a late change to the venue situation. The tournament's earlier rounds and semi-finals remain at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, but the final has been shifted from Bengaluru to Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium, with the move allowing spectators to attend the title clash. So, yes, Chepauk gets the final, and hopefully the crowd brings the noise, not just the humidity.
Full Duleep Trophy 2026 Squads
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).
Patidar and Rinku together? That middle order could get entertaining very quickly.
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).
South have no shortage of batting options, and Karun Nair's presence adds another layer of experience to a side looking to go one step further than last season.
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).
The showstealer here is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. At just 15, he gets another major opportunity, while Ishan Kishan leads a side featuring the serious pace experience of Shami and Mukesh Kumar.
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).
If domestic cricket squads had a “watch this space” label, West Zone would qualify. Gaikwad, Shaw, Shardul and Musheer give the side plenty of star power to the squad.
North East Zone
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).
North East Zone begin in the opening round against East Zone and will be looking to spoil the party against a team packed with more recognisable names.
How Does The Tournament Format Work?
East Zone vs North East Zone in the first quarter-final.
North Zone vs West Zone in the other quarter-final.
Central Zone, as defending champions, await the winner of the first match.
South Zone, last season's runners-up, await the winner of North vs West.
The two semi-final winners meet in the final at Chepauk.
The 2026-27 domestic season officially begins with the Duleep Trophy on August 23, making this tournament the first major red-ball audition of the new campaign. For some, it will be about silverware. For others, it could be about knocking on the India door. And for fans, it is simply a reminder that Indian cricket does, in fact, exist outside the IPL.
