The Duleep Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in India. Named after former cricketer Duleepsinhji, the competition has usually been contested by teams representing various geographical zones of India since the first tournament in 1961âÂÂ62. There have been a few exceptions to the zonal format, such as the 2002âÂÂ03 tournament, where five teams were formed based on Ranji Trophy groups, and the four editions held between 2016âÂÂ17 and 2019âÂÂ20, when the BCCI selected three teams called India Blue, Red and Green. The latest 2024-25 edition featured four teams named Team A, B, C and D.
The competition was established by the BCCI in the 1961âÂÂ62 season. The tournament was contested between the different geographical zones of India namely, North, South, East, West and Central. The inaugural tournament was won by West Zone who defeated South Zone in the final by ten wickets. In the 1962âÂÂ63 season, four of the five teams except Central Zone included a West Indies Test cricketer as a part of the teams.
The original format was that the five teams played each other on a knock-out basis. From the 1993âÂÂ94 season, the competition converted to a league format before moving back to the knock-out format for four seasons. The tournament again reverted to a league format for three seasons from 2000âÂÂ01. For the 2002âÂÂ03 season, the zonal teams were replaced by five teams representing respective Ranji Trophy groups but the format lasted only one season. From the 2003âÂÂ04 season, the five original zonal teams competed along with a sixth guest team which was a touring foreign team. The first guest team was England A in 2003âÂÂ04. From the 2009-10 season, the guest team was dropped, with the original five-team knockout tournament being used until the 2014âÂÂ15 season.
The championship was not held in 2015âÂÂ16 but returned to in 2016âÂÂ17 with a new format where three teams chosen by the BCCI took part, designated as Blue, Green and Red. The teams played a round-robin tournament, with the top two advancing to the final. All games were staged as day-night games and used pink cricket balls. The trophy was cancelled for three seasons due to COVID-19 and the zonal format returnedàwhen it was re-started in 2022-23 with the original five zonal teams joined by a new North East Zone.
The 2024-25 format deviated from recent editions by featuring four teams: India A, India B, India C, and India D, instead of the traditional zonal teams. The tournament followed a round-robin format with no knockout stage. The team with the maximum points at the end of the round-robin stage won the tournament. The teams were composed of a mix of experienced and emerging players selected by national selectors. https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cricket/story/duleep-trophy-2024-points-system-duleep-trophy-2024-format-2602764-2024-09-19https://www.indiatvnews.com/sports/cricket/explained-how-does-duleep-trophy-2024-points-system-work-and-how-will-the-winner-be-decided-2024-09-05-950561
Under the usual zonal system, each team is a composite of cricketers who play for the Ranji Trophy teams situated in that region of India:
West Zone, with 19 trophies, is the most successful team in the competition.
Note: The Wins include the shared trophies and the win percentage counts shared as half a win.
Viacom18 holds the media rights to domestic tournaments, including the Duleep Trophy, from 2023 to 2028; Sports18 is the official television broadcaster, while matches are also streamed for free on the JioCinema platform.