Back in its traditional avatar of an inter-zonal contest, the Duleep Trophy will mark the start of India’s domestic season for the 2025-26 season, starting August 28. The tournament will be held in Bengaluru, and the matches will be played at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence grounds.
Six zones – South, Central, West, East, North, and North-East – will take part in the tournament, which will be played in a knock-out format.
While South and West Zone teams have gained a direct ticket to the semifinals, the two quarterfinals featuring North Zone vs East Zone and Central Zone vs North-East Zone will be played from August 28 to 31.
The semifinals are scheduled from September 4 to 7, followed by the final starting, September 11.
The Duleep Trophy was reverted to the inter-zonal format after a season’s gap, where four teams – A, B, C and D – comprising players in the Test fray were picked by the national men’s selection committee.
However, the teams for this year’s tournament will be picked by zonal selection committees, comprising one member from each of the state sides from the zone.
No place for Karun Nair in South Zone squad
Karun Nair, who recently made his Test comeback after eight years in the ongoing five-Test series against England, failed to find a place in the South Zone squad, led by Tilak Varma. Ahead of the upcoming season, Nair announced his return to Karnataka colours after winning the Ranji Trophy for Vidarbha last season.
Question marks also remain over Nair’s place in the Vidarbha side for the Irani Cup, ever since he switched sides after the last season.
The BCCI announced that the Irani Cup, played between the current Ranji Trophy champions — Vidarbha and the Rest of India (ROI) will be played in Nagpur. The annual five-day fixture will be played from October 1-5, 2025.