The Duleep Trophy is one of India's major domestic first-class cricket tournaments, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It was established in the 1961-62 season and is named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji of Nawanagar, one of India's earliest notable cricketers.
Origin and Format
The tournament began as a zonal competition, with teams representing India's regions: North, South, East, West and Central Zones. The first edition was held in 1961-62, with West Zone defeating South Zone by 10 wickets in the final.
Over the years, the format has changed several times:
- Initially based purely on zones (North, South, East, West, Central)
- Later, a North-East Zone was added
- At one point, BCCI moved away from zones and introduced India Red, India Blue and India Green teams
- More recently, the tournament reverted to the zonal format
- In the 2024-25 season, the format shifted again, being decided through a league table system rather than a final, with India A and India C contesting (India A finished as champions)
Most Successful Team
West Zone has been the most dominant side in Duleep Trophy history, winning the title 19 times. North Zone and South Zone have also been consistently strong performers over the decades.
Notable Points
- The tournament has seen several shared titles (years where two zones were declared joint winners), such as 1963-64, 1988-89, 1997-98, and 2013-14
- There are gaps in the tournament's history for 2015-16, 2020-21 and 2021-22, likely due to scheduling issues (possibly linked to disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic)
- In 2006-07, North Zone even played against a Sri Lanka A team in the final, showing occasional international/A-team participation
Current Zonal Structure
- North Zone: Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Services
- South Zone: Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Hyderabad, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
- Central Zone: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Railways, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha
- East Zone: Assam, Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura
- North-East Zone: Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland
- West Zone: Baroda, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Saurashtra
Duleep Trophy Winners List
|
Season
|
Winner
|
Runner-up
|
|
1961–62
|
West Zone
|
South Zone
|
|
1962–63
|
West Zone
|
South Zone
|
|
1963–64
|
West Zone & South Zone (shared)
|
—
|
|
1964–65
|
West Zone
|
Central Zone
|
|
1965–66
|
South Zone
|
Central Zone
|
|
1966–67
|
South Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1967–68
|
South Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1968–69
|
West Zone
|
South Zone
|
|
1969–70
|
West Zone
|
North Zone
|
|
1970–71
|
South Zone
|
East Zone
|
|
1971–72
|
Central Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1972–73
|
West Zone
|
Central Zone
|
|
1973–74
|
North Zone
|
Central Zone
|
|
1974–75
|
South Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1975–76
|
South Zone
|
North Zone
|
|
1976–77
|
West Zone
|
North Zone
|
|
1977–78
|
West Zone
|
North Zone
|
|
1978–79
|
North Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1979–80
|
North Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1980–81
|
West Zone
|
East Zone
|
|
1981–82
|
West Zone
|
East Zone
|
|
1982–83
|
North Zone
|
South Zone
|
|
1983–84
|
North Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1984–85
|
South Zone
|
North Zone
|
|
1985–86
|
West Zone
|
South Zone
|
|
1986–87
|
South Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1987–88
|
North Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1988–89
|
North Zone & West Zone (shared)
|
—
|
|
1989–90
|
South Zone
|
Central Zone
|
|
1990–91
|
North Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1991–92
|
North Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1992–93
|
North Zone
|
Central Zone
|
|
1993–94
|
North Zone
|
—
|
|
1994–95
|
North Zone
|
—
|
|
1995–96
|
South Zone
|
—
|
|
1996–97
|
Central Zone
|
South Zone
|
|
1997–98
|
Central Zone & North Zone (shared)
|
—
|
|
1998–99
|
Central Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
1999–2000
|
North Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
2000–01
|
North Zone
|
—
|
|
2001–02
|
West Zone
|
—
|
|
2002–03
|
Elite C Plate Group B
|
—
|
|
2003–04
|
North Zone
|
East Zone
|
|
2004–05
|
Central Zone
|
North Zone
|
|
2005–06
|
West Zone
|
East Zone
|
|
2006–07
|
North Zone
|
Sri Lanka A
|
|
2007–08
|
North Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
2008–09
|
West Zone
|
South Zone
|
|
2009–10
|
West Zone
|
South Zone
|
|
2010–11
|
South Zone
|
North Zone
|
|
2011–12
|
East Zone
|
Central Zone
|
|
2012–13
|
East Zone
|
Central Zone
|
|
2013–14
|
North Zone & South Zone (shared)
|
—
|
|
2014–15
|
Central Zone
|
South Zone
|
|
2016–17
|
India Blue
|
India Red
|
|
2017–18
|
India Red
|
India Blue
|
|
2018–19
|
India Blue
|
India Red
|
|
2019–20
|
India Red
|
India Green
|
|
2022–23
|
West Zone
|
South Zone
|
|
2023
|
South Zone
|
West Zone
|
|
2024–25
|
India A
|
India C
|
|
2025–26
|
Central Zone
|
South Zone
|
