The Duleep Trophy 2026 squads and schedule have been confirmed — and the 63rd edition of Indian domestic cricket’s premier red-ball competition is shaping up as the most star-studded in years.
The Duleep Trophy 2026 squads announcement came with the kind of headline that makes domestic cricket feel important beyond its own context: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — 15 years old, 776 IPL runs, maiden senior international fifty against Zimbabwe last week — has been named vice-captain of East Zone. Ishan Kishan leads East Zone as captain. Rajat Patidar captains Central Zone with Rinku Singh as his deputy. Ruturaj Gaikwad leads West Zone with Shams Mulani alongside him. The Duleep Trophy 2026 schedule runs from August 23 to September 10 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru — both grounds running simultaneously through the quarter-finals and semifinals before the five-day final from September 6-10.
The Duleep Trophy 2026 squads and schedule matter for reasons that go beyond domestic pride. India tour Sri Lanka for two Tests starting August 15. Then New Zealand for two Tests later in the year. Four away Tests in less than four months — and the selectors are watching everything that happens at the CoE in Bengaluru between August 23 and September 10 very carefully.
Why Duleep Trophy 2026 Matters More Than Usual
The Duleep Trophy has always mattered. It is where Test careers are built and where players forced out of the national setup fight their way back. It is where a selector watching a session at the CoE sees something in a young middle-order batter’s footwork against quality pace bowling that a statistical record alone cannot show.
But the Duleep Trophy 2026 squads have been put together with unusual urgency because of what India’s Test schedule looks like across the next twelve months.
Galle on August 15 — fourteen days after the Duleep Trophy begins. The squad for that Test has already been named — Gill, Pant, Jadeja, Bumrah, Siraj, Kuldeep, Saransh Jain and more. But the squad for the New Zealand tour, the home Australia series in October and the first Test summer of 2027 against whoever the home schedule brings is still being constructed in the minds of the selectors.
Every innings in Bengaluru this August feeds into that construction. Mohammed Shami bowling in East Zone colours tells the selectors whether his pace and stamina — after his extended injury absence — are ready for the demands of overseas Test cricket. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s batting against quality domestic pace gives them something more current than his last international innings. Rajat Patidar leading Central Zone with Rinku Singh at his side gives the selectors a look at two middle-order options simultaneously, in conditions that approximate the challenge of overseas Test cricket more closely than T20 cricket ever could.
Tournament Format — How It Works
The Duleep Trophy 2026 squads compete in a knockout tournament with a specific structure that rewards the previous season’s top two performers.
Six zones. Central Zone — defending champions, 7th title in 2025 where Saransh Jain took 16 wickets and won Player of the Tournament, Yash Rathod won Player of the Match in the final — receive a direct semifinal entry. South Zone — runners-up in 2025 — also go directly to the semifinals.
The remaining four zones play quarter-finals. The two quarter-final winners meet Central and South in the semifinals. The semifinal winners contest a five-day final.
All matches at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru — both grounds running simultaneously, meaning two matches are played at the same time during the quarter-finals and semi-finals. This is the same arrangement that the previous edition used and allows the selectors to watch all players across all zones at a single venue, which is the specific administrative logic behind the CoE hosting.
Complete Schedule — All Times 9:30 AM IST
| Match | Teams | Venue | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter-Final 1 | East Zone vs North East Zone | CoE Ground 2, Bengaluru | Aug 23-26 |
| Quarter-Final 2 | North Zone vs West Zone | CoE Ground 1, Bengaluru | Aug 23-26 |
| Semi-Final 1 | Central Zone vs QF Winner | CoE Ground 1, Bengaluru | Aug 30 — Sep 2 |
| Semi-Final 2 | South Zone vs QF Winner | CoE Ground 2, Bengaluru | Aug 30 — Sep 2 |
| Final | SF Winner vs SF Winner | CoE Ground 1, Bengaluru | Sep 6-10 |
Start time: 9:30 AM IST each day Rest day: As per match schedule
All Six Zone Squads — Complete List
Central Zone — Defending Champions
Captain: Rajat Patidar | Vice-Captain: Rinku Singh
Central Zone arrive as defending champions — the team that produced Saransh Jain’s 16-wicket tournament-winning performance in 2025 and the team that is now preparing under Rajat Patidar’s leadership with Rinku Singh providing the batting depth and finishing ability that Central’s middle order needs.
Patidar is one of the more interesting red-ball prospects in Indian cricket who has not yet fully converted his domestic quality into consistent international opportunity. His IPL brilliance with Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans across multiple seasons is documented, but the Duleep Trophy, Ranji Trophy and first-class cricket is where his Test candidacy will be established or not. As captain, he carries additional responsibility that the selectors will be watching.
Rinku Singh as vice-captain is the specific selection that combines leadership development with the recognition that a player who has established himself as one of India’s most reliable T20I finishers deserves to be built toward a longer-format role. His first-class average suggests the technique is there. The Duleep Trophy is the stage.
Also confirmed for Central Zone: Harsh Dubey, Yash Thakur — both players who featured in India’s Zimbabwe T20I series — and Saransh Jain, who has now earned his India Test call-up for the Sri Lanka series after his Duleep Trophy 2025 performance and his subsequent Duleep Trophy form.
East Zone — Sooryavanshi’s Next Chapter
Captain: Ishan Kishan | Vice-Captain: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
The selection that generated the most discussion when the Duleep Trophy 2026 squads were announced.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — 15 years old, just returned from Zimbabwe where he scored 81 off 49 in the third T20I and won the Player of the Series award — has been named vice-captain of East Zone. His captain is Ishan Kishan, who himself is at 916 ICC T20I rating points — the third-highest T20I batting rating ever recorded — after his 81 off 44 in Zimbabwe.
The East Zone vice-captaincy is not just a symbolic gesture. Sooryavanshi has now played six international T20Is and produced match-winning performances in domestic cricket across formats for two years. The BCCI giving him leadership responsibility at 15 — alongside an established international cricketer as his captain — is the specific developmental choice that shapes long-term Test career growth rather than just short-term T20 deployment.
East Zone squad: Ishan Kishan (c), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (vc), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Kumar Kushagra, Shikhar Mohan, Anukul Roy + additional squad members.
The Shami presence is the selector’s primary attention point in East Zone’s squad. His return from an extended Achilles injury — the injury that kept him out of the 2023-24 Test summer against England — and his subsequent availability for international cricket depends on what the selectors see in Bengaluru. His rhythm, his pace, his workload management across four days of first-class cricket — these are the things that determine whether Shami is in India’s Test squad for New Zealand in October.
West Zone — Gaikwad’s Command
Captain: Ruturaj Gaikwad | Vice-Captain: Shams Mulani
West Zone carry the deepest batting lineup in the Duleep Trophy 2026 squads and one of the tournament’s most interesting leadership stories. Ruturaj Gaikwad — Chennai Super Kings’ opening batter and India’s standby Test opener in multiple series — captains a side that includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and the batting depth that makes West Zone perennial contenders in any domestic tournament.
Jaiswal’s presence in West Zone colours gives the selectors a rare chance to see him in four-day cricket ahead of the Sri Lanka Tests — where he is almost certain to open the batting for India. His red-ball form has been strong in international cricket but domestic form before an overseas Test series is always additional evidence.
Sarfaraz Khan — whose first-class average has been extraordinary across the last four seasons — brings the middle-order quality that West Zone cricket has always relied on. His Test career has been intermittent but his domestic record remains one of the strongest in Indian cricket.
West Zone squad confirmed includes: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Shams Mulani (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma + additional squad members.
North Zone — International Depth
Captain: TBC | Vice-Captain: TBC
North Zone’s squad carries significant international experience. Shubman Gill — India’s ODI captain, newly installed Test captain, and the No. 1 ranked ODI batter in the world — is expected to feature in North Zone colours, giving selectors a look at his Test batting form ahead of the Sri Lanka series in which he leads the side.
The specific North Zone challenge in any Duleep Trophy is the combination of international-standard players alongside domestic stalwarts who may not otherwise get the attention their consistent first-class performances deserve. Bengaluru’s CoE conditions tend to produce results within four days — which rewards batting discipline and bowling quality simultaneously.
North Zone’s quarter-final against West Zone — at CoE Ground 1 from August 23-26 — is the most anticipated fixture of the first round. Two zones with India internationals across their squads, playing on the same ground at the same time as East vs North East at Ground 2.
South Zone — Runners-Up Seeking the Title
Captain: TBC | Vice-Captain: TBC
South Zone finished as runners-up in 2025 and receive a direct semifinal entry in 2026 alongside Central Zone. Their squad is expected to include players from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Goa — the southern states that have historically produced some of India’s finest technical batters and spin bowlers.
South Zone’s specific advantage in Duleep Trophy conditions at the CoE is their familiarity with Bengaluru’s surfaces — players from Karnataka in particular have trained and played at these grounds extensively. The ability to adapt to conditions you already know is not a small advantage in a four-day match.
North East Zone — The Tournament’s Wildcard
Captain: TBC | Vice-Captain: TBC
North East Zone have never won the Duleep Trophy. They have not come close to winning it. But their presence in the competition since 2022 has been one of domestic cricket’s quieter success stories — players from Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya and the other northeastern states who have not had the same infrastructure investment as the major cricketing states, competing against squads packed with current and former India internationals.
Their quarter-final against East Zone — with Ishan Kishan captaining and Sooryavanshi as vice-captain — is the match that East Zone will approach as favourites but which North East Zone will approach with the specific freedom that comes from having nothing to lose.
The Captains and Vice-Captains — Quick Reference
| Zone | Captain | Vice-Captain | Notable Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Zone | Rajat Patidar | Rinku Singh | Saransh Jain, Harsh Dubey |
| East Zone | Ishan Kishan | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Mohammed Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran |
| West Zone | Ruturaj Gaikwad | Shams Mulani | Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan |
| North Zone | TBC | TBC | Shubman Gill (expected) |
| South Zone | TBC | TBC | Multiple Karnataka + TN players |
| North East Zone | TBC | TBC | Emerging NE talent |
Key Storylines to Watch
1. Sooryavanshi’s First Red-Ball Assignment at This Level
He has played first-class cricket. But this is the Duleep Trophy — with national selectors watching every delivery, with Mohammed Shami bowling from the other end in the same zone, with four-day cricket demanding a completely different kind of patience and technique from what his T20 and international career has required so far. How Sooryavanshi handles the specific challenge of red-ball cricket — leaving balls outside off stump, building innings across sessions rather than across overs — will answer questions about his Test future that no T20I has asked.
2. Mohammed Shami’s Fitness
The selectors need 20 overs from Shami across a first-class day. Not 4 overs in a T20. Not 10 overs in an ODI. Twenty overs, with the Dukes ball, against quality domestic batters who will test his body’s response to extended fast bowling workloads. The answer to whether Shami is ready for Test cricket in New Zealand comes from what happens at the CoE Ground 2 from August 23.
3. Rajat Patidar’s Test Candidacy
He averages over 50 in first-class cricket. He captains Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy. He is 30 years old. Whether the Test selectors have space in their thinking for a 30-year-old middle-order batter who has not yet been given an international opportunity in Tests is a question that only runs in the Duleep Trophy can move forward.
4. North Zone vs West Zone — The Star Match
East vs North East in the same round will be one-sided on paper. North vs West — with potentially Gill, Jaiswal, Sarfaraz, Gaikwad and Tilak all in action on the same ground — is the domestic cricket marquee fixture of the first round.
Previous Edition — 2025 Duleep Trophy
| Detail | 2025-26 |
|---|---|
| Winner | Central Zone (7th title) |
| Runner-up | South Zone |
| Player of Series | Saransh Jain — 16 wickets in 2 matches |
| Player of Match (Final) | Yash Rathod |
| Most Runs | Rajat Patidar — 382 |
| Most Wickets | Saransh Jain — 16 |
Saransh Jain’s 2025 Duleep Trophy performance is the specific reason he is now in India’s Test squad for Sri Lanka. His 5/49 in the final was the bowling performance of the tournament. The BCCI rewarded it with an India call-up. The Duleep Trophy delivers.
Where to Watch
| Platform | Details |
|---|---|
| TV | Star Sports Network |
| Streaming | JioHotstar |
| Start Time | 9:30 AM IST each day |
| Venue | BCCI CoE, Bengaluru (both grounds) |
| Free | JioHotstar app |
FAQ — Duleep Trophy 2026 Squads Schedule
Q1: When does Duleep Trophy 2026 start and end?
The Duleep Trophy 2026 begins on August 23, 2026 with the two quarter-finals at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and ends on September 10, 2026 with the five-day final. The tournament runs across 19 days with rest days between the quarter-finals, semifinals and final.
Q2: Who is the captain and vice-captain of East Zone in Duleep Trophy 2026?
Ishan Kishan has been appointed captain of East Zone for Duleep Trophy 2026, with 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi named vice-captain. The appointment makes Sooryavanshi one of the youngest vice-captains in the tournament’s 63-year history and comes directly after his Player of the Series performance against Zimbabwe in T20Is.
Q3: Which zones get direct entry to the semifinals in Duleep Trophy 2026?
Central Zone — defending champions, who won their 7th title in 2025 with Saransh Jain winning Player of the Tournament — and South Zone — runners-up in 2025 — both receive direct semifinal entry. The other four zones (East, North, West, North East) compete in two quarter-finals to determine the remaining two semifinalists.
Q4: Who are the captains of all zones in Duleep Trophy 2026?
Confirmed captains: Rajat Patidar leads Central Zone with Rinku Singh as vice-captain. Ishan Kishan leads East Zone with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as vice-captain. Ruturaj Gaikwad leads West Zone with Shams Mulani as vice-captain. North Zone, South Zone and North East Zone captains are to be confirmed.
Q5: Where is Duleep Trophy 2026 being played?
All Duleep Trophy 2026 matches are played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru — using both available grounds simultaneously during the quarter-finals and semifinals. The final from September 6-10 will be played at CoE Ground 1.
Q6: Why is Duleep Trophy 2026 particularly important for selectors?
India tour Sri Lanka for two Tests starting August 15 and then travel to New Zealand for two more Tests later in the year. The selectors will use Duleep Trophy 2026 performances — particularly Mohammed Shami’s fitness, Sooryavanshi’s red-ball adaptation and Rajat Patidar’s Test candidacy — to shape squads for those four overseas Tests. Saransh Jain’s 2025 Duleep Trophy performance was directly rewarded with his 2026 India Test call-up.
