The Duleep Trophy 2026 is back, and it’s opening the Indian domestic red-ball season in style. Running from August 23 to September 6, 2026, this year’s edition brings together six zonal sides — stacked with names like Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mohammed Shami, Tilak Varma, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — all fighting for one of Indian cricket’s oldest domestic titles.
If you’re looking for the exact match dates, live score updates, venue details, or who’s playing whom, you’re in the right place. This page of Onlinecricketid.online covers everything: the full fixture list, format explanation, squads, streaming info, and a results tracker that we’ll keep updated as the tournament progresses.
Quick Facts: Duleep Trophy 2026 at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Tournament | Duleep Trophy 2026-27 (63rd edition) |
| Format | First-class, Knockout |
| Dates | August 23 – September 6, 2026 |
| Teams | 6 (Central, South, East, West, North & North East Zone) |
| Total Matches | 5 (2 Quarterfinals, 2 Semifinals, 1 Final) |
| Venue | BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE), Bengaluru |
| Defending Champion | Central Zone |
| Runner-up (2025-26) | South Zone |
| Governing Body | BCCI |
| Broadcast | Star Sports Network |
| Live Streaming | JioHotstar |
What Is the Duleep Trophy?
The Duleep Trophy is India’s premier zonal first-class cricket tournament, named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji, who played 12 Tests for England between 1929 and 1931. First played in 1961-62, it’s one of the oldest fixtures on India’s domestic calendar and traditionally kicks off the red-ball season before the Ranji Trophy gets underway.
Unlike the Ranji Trophy, which is contested between individual state associations, the Duleep Trophy pits six regional zones against each other: Central Zone, East Zone, North Zone, North East Zone, South Zone, and West Zone. For years it’s served as an early-season proving ground where fringe international players make a case for Test selection — and the 2026 edition is no exception, with several current India internationals turning out for their zones ahead of an upcoming overseas Test tour.
Duleep Trophy 2026 Format Explained
This year’s tournament follows the now-familiar knockout structure introduced in recent seasons:
- Central Zone (defending champions) and South Zone (runners-up from 2025-26) get a direct bye straight into the semifinals.
- The remaining four zones — East, West, North, and North East — play two quarterfinals to decide who joins them.
- All five matches, including both quarterfinals, both semifinals, and the final, are being played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru, split across Ground 1 and Ground 2.
This zonal, pre-qualification format rewards the previous season’s top two performers while still giving the other four zones a genuine path to the title through the knockout bracket.
Duleep Trophy 2026 Full Schedule & Fixtures
| Match | Fixture | Date | Time (IST) | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarterfinal | East Zone vs North East Zone | August 23 (Sun) | 9:30 AM | BCCI COE, Ground 2 |
| 2nd Quarterfinal | North Zone vs West Zone | August 23 (Sun) | 9:30 AM | BCCI COE, Ground 1 |
| 1st Semifinal | Central Zone vs QF2 Winner | August 30 (Sun) | 9:30 AM | BCCI COE, Ground 1 |
| 2nd Semifinal | South Zone vs QF1 Winner | August 30 (Sun) | 9:30 AM | BCCI COE, Ground 2 |
| Final | Semifinal 1 Winner vs Semifinal 2 Winner | September 6 (Sun) | 9:30 AM | BCCI COE, Ground 1 |
Note: Duleep Trophy matches are played over four days each, so while the “date” above marks the start of play, each fixture typically runs across four consecutive days unless it finishes early.
Duleep Trophy 2026 Live Score
Matches begin on August 23. You can follow the action through the following platforms:
- Star Sports Network – Live TV broadcast
- JioHotstar – Live streaming (app and website, subscription required)
- Official BCCI Domestic Cricket Platforms – Ball-by-ball live scores and updates
Live scorecards and match summaries will be updated as the tournament progresses. Bookmark this page for the latest Duleep Trophy 2026 results.
Duleep Trophy 2026 Results (Updated As Matches Conclude)
| Match | Result |
|---|---|
| East Zone vs North East Zone | To be updated after August 23 |
| North Zone vs West Zone | To be updated after August 23 |
| Semifinal 1 | To be updated after August 30 |
| Semifinal 2 | To be updated after August 30 |
| Final | To be updated after September 6 |
Duleep Trophy 2026 Squads
Central Zone (Defending Champions)
Rajat Patidar (C), Rinku Singh (VC), Aryan Juyal (WK), Saransh Jain, Kunal Singh Rathod (WK), Aman Mokhade, Zeeshan Ansari, Aryan Pandey, Arshad Khan, Kunal Chandela, Ayush Pandey, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Yash Thakur, Nachiket Bhute.
South Zone (Runners-Up)
Tilak Varma (C), Ricky Bhui (VC), K. Himateja, R. Smaran, N. Jagadeesan (WK), Karun Nair, Shreyas Gopal, Abhinav Tejrana, Shaik Rasheed, Tanay Thyagarajan, K. Sai Teja, Tripurana Vijay, Aman Khan, Vidwath Kaverappa, M.D. Nideesh.
East Zone
Ishan Kishan (C), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (VC), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Shikhar Mohan, Anukul Roy, Virat Singh, Subhranshu Senapati, Denish Das, Abhijit Sarkar.
West Zone
Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Prithvi Shaw, Shams Mulani (VC), Harvik Desai (WK), Shivalik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Jaymeet Patel, Musheer Khan, Shardul Thakur, Urvil Patel (WK), Siddharth Desai, Tanush Kotian, Atit Seth, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chaudhary.
North Zone
Kanhaiya Wadhawan (C), Ayush Badoni (VC), Yash Dhull, Ayush Doseja, Abdul Samad, Nishant Sindhu, Sanat Sangwan, Qamran Iqbal, Arjun Sharma, Anshul Kamboj, Abid Mushtaq, Arshdeep Singh, Sunil Kumar, Yudhvir Singh, Nikhil Kashyap.
North East Zone
Jonathan Rongsen (C), Robin Limboo, Techi Neri, Bishworjit Singh Konthoujam, Imliwati Lemtur, Kishan Lyndoh, Arpit Subhas, Priyojit K. Ronald Meitei, Joseph Lal Thankhuma, Akash Kumar Choudhary, Lalrempuia, Jotin Singh Pheiroijam, Vino G. Zhimomi, Ashish Thapa.
Key Players to Watch
- Shubman Gill – India’s Test captain, leading his zone.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad – West Zone captain aiming to impress in red-ball cricket.
- Mohammed Shami – Representing East Zone and looking for a Test comeback.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi – East Zone vice-captain and one of India’s top young talents.
- Tilak Varma – South Zone captain focused on improving his first-class form.
- Rajat Patidar – Central Zone captain and defending champion.
Where to Watch Duleep Trophy 2026
- TV: Star Sports Network (live broadcast across India)
- Live Streaming: JioHotstar app and website (subscription-based)
- Live Score Updates: Official BCCI domestic cricket score feeds
Duleep Trophy: Past Winners (Recent Editions)
| Season | Champion | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Central Zone | South Zone |
| 2023 | South Zone | West Zone |
Central Zone enters 2026 as defending champions, having lifted their seventh title last season, and will be aiming to become the first side to defend the trophy back-to-back under the current knockout-with-byes format.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Duleep Trophy 2026 begins on Sunday, August 23, 2026, with two quarterfinals played simultaneously at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
The final is scheduled for Sunday, September 6, 2026, at BCCI Centre of Excellence, Ground 1.
Six zonal teams compete: Central Zone, East Zone, North Zone, North East Zone, South Zone, and West Zone.
Central Zone won the 2025-26 edition, defeating South Zone in the final.
All five matches are being held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru, across Ground 1 and Ground 2.
Matches are broadcast live on the Star Sports Network, with live streaming available on JioHotstar.
As the champion and runner-up from the previous edition, Central Zone and South Zone are pre-qualified directly into the semifinals under the tournament's current format, while the other four zones battle it out in the quarterfinals for the remaining two semifinal spots.
No. The Duleep Trophy is a separate, standalone tournament that is contested on a zonal basis and traditionally opens the domestic first-class season, ahead of the state-based Ranji Trophy, which starts on October 11 this year.
This page will be updated with live scores, session summaries, and full results as the Duleep Trophy 2026 progresses. Bookmark this page for the latest schedule changes, scorecards, and match reports.