Key Points

The 2025/26 edition of the competition has reverted back to its traditional zonal format, after tons of experiments of naming and selecting teams on the basis of colours and first four letters in the English alphabet.

While North Zone will face East Zone in the opening match, Central Zone will take on North East Zone in the other game. South and West Zones have been given a direct entry into the semi-finals happening on September 4.

Due to the upcoming red-ball matches for India A against Australia A and South Africa A, along with the senior Test team’s two matches each against the West Indies and South Africa, the Duleep Trophy takes on increased importance for both existing Test players and talented hopefuls aiming for entering the national set-up.

“The significance of Duleep Trophy has increased now. I have played in the Duleep Trophy for 13-14 years. It’s the benchmark tournament to perform in the quest of playing for India. Though more importance is being given to T20 cricket, I believe red-ball performances do matter a lot in the long run.

“What happens in the Duleep Trophy is that the boys from whichever zone perform well, they do eventually get recognition to play for India,” said Gyanendra Pandey, former India cricketer and one of the most successful Central Zone skippers in the past, to IANS.

With the trophy moving back to zonal format, Pandey feels regional pride and the quest to win matches will benefit the players. “The beauty of playing Duleep Trophy in previous format used to be like if there is a match between South Zone and Central Zone, the competition’s level increases because everyone is just playing to win.”

“The yearning to play for a win was there too last year, but what happens in the old format is, the boys from the Central Zone are playing in the same zone and the same goes for boys who play for South Zone, giving both teams a common and united aim. So, I think the tendency to win increases when playing as per older format,” he added.

The build-up for players has been interesting too – some are coming off playing T20 leagues for their respective states, while few are arriving on the back of playing red-ball Buchi Babu Invitational Competition in Chennai or had stints with either India A or in county championship in England.

“Fitness levels in the Duleep Trophy will be at its highest too. In T20s, you bowl four overs and you're done. But here, you have to outthink set batters over long spells. In T20s, a batter can get out trying to hit.

“But in the Duleep Trophy, it’s your technical strength and endurance that shape your innings. For fast bowlers, the ability to generate swing becomes crucial—and that’s where their class shows. It’s performances like these that catch the selectors’ eye,” added Pandey.

India Test captain Shubman Gill was named to lead North Zone, which also includes pacers Arshdeep Singh (who didn’t get a game on England tour) and Harshit Rana. But with Gill reportedly down with viral fever and the trio being a part of India’s squad for the Asia Cup, they may not feature in the tournament.

The North Zone zonal selectors had named replacements and they could come into the main team. Interestingly, in his snapchat video, Arshdeep addressed Haryana’s Ankit Kumar, named North Zone vice-captain, as his zonal skipper. Anshul Kamboj, who didn’t have a memorable Test debut in Manchester, will be itching to get his groove ahead of a long domestic season.

East Zone will be captained by Abhimanyu Easwaran, who warmed the bench on the recent Test tour of England. The team includes pacers Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar, while Akash Deep and Ishan Kishan are unavailable due to injury.

Central Zone’s squad features Dhruv Jurel, Rajat Patidar and Asia-Cup bound Kuldeep Yadav, who like Easwaran didn’t get a game in England, apart from Khaleel Ahmed, and Deepak Chahar.

West Zone looks strong due to presence of skipper Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmendra Jadeja, and Tushar Deshpande.

Though South Zone haven’t included KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Sai Sudharsan, and Prasidh Krishna in the initial squad led by Tilak Varma, one can expect for some changes in second round.

For now, the Duleep Trophy still remains a vital platform for players to enhance their reputation with great performances, and in the process, quietly surge in the quest to play Tests for India in front of the eagle-eyed selection committee.

- IANS