Duleep Trophy Winners List From 1961 To 2026

Duleep Trophy 2026 Winner Ishan Kishan (Source: X.Com/@BhttDNSH100)

There is no doubt India has abundant cricketing talent. One can see streets and grounds jam-packed with players playing the sport with immense passion and dedication.

With that in mind, in 1961, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) launched yet another First-Class tournament, the Duleep Trophy, in India’s domestic cricketing structure after the Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy.

East Zone thumps South Zone to claim Duleep Trophy 2026 title after 14 years

The Duleep Trophy 2026 final ended in a draw, but East Zone clinched the title on the basis of their first innings lead over South Zone on the final day in Chennai on Thursday. 

Led by Ishan Kishan, East Zone clinched the title after 13 years by virtue of their 372-run first innings lead. In their second innings, East Zone moved to 388/7 at stumps, taking their overall lead to 760 runs. 

After a dismal run early in the tournament, Ishan Kishan brought his best in the final, playing an impeccable knock of 270 in the first innings. Ishan stepped up again, scoring 80 to finish the final with 350 runs. 

For his incredible run in the Duleep Trophy final, the East Zone captain, Ishan Kishan, was named the Player of the Match. 

Moreover, let's now take a look at the Duleep Trophy winners list over the years, from 1961/62 to 2026/27. 

Duleep Trophy Winners List 1961/62 - 2026/27

The Evolution of the Duleep Trophy Format

Since its inauguration, the red-ball competition has been held every season, except for 3 iterations in 2015, 2020-21 and 2021-22, the latter due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For the most part, the Duleep Trophy has been contested by regional zones, with some tweaks in the last few seasons.

From 1961 to 2001-02, 5 zonal teams - Central, East, North, South, and West - participated in the First-Class competition.

For the 2002-03 season, the BCCI replaced the zonal teams with 5 squads formed based on that season’s Ranji Trophy groups. The teams were Elite Group A, Elite Group B, Elite Group C, Plate Group A, and Plate Group B.

But the BCCI returned to its original zonal teams the next season and also invited a foreign team. The 6-team tournament continued till the 2007-08 season, featuring England A/Lions, Bangladesh Cricket Board XI, Sri Lanka A, and Zimbabwe XI as guest teams.

Also read: Ranji Trophy Winners List (1934-2026)

From 2008-09 to 2014, the Duleep Trophy featured only the 5 zonal teams. In the 2016 season, the board decided to play the Duleep Trophy as day-night fixtures with pink balls, featuring only 3 teams - India Blue, India Green, and India Red.

The format continued for 3 more seasons, with the 2019-20 season being played as day games. For the next 2 seasons, the tourney couldn’t take place due to Covid-19 restrictions.

For the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the Duleep Trophy went back to the zonal format, with the addition of one team - North East Zone. Meanwhile, the 2024 season had 4 teams -Team A, Team B, Team C, and Team D - as participants.

Finally, the tournament in 2025 expanded and reverted to the traditional six-team zonal format (including North East Zone), utilising a knockout and pre-qualification bracket.

Which is the most successful team in Duleep Trophy history?

West Zone is the most successful team in the history of the Duleep Trophy, having won 19 trophies.

This included four consecutive titles from 1961–1962 through the 1964–65 season, although one of these was shared with South Zone in 1963.

West Zone is a composite team of players from five first-class Indian teams from western India competing in the Ranji Trophy: Baroda, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Mumbai and Saurashtra.

Also read: State T20 League-Wise Players Announced In India-A ODI Squad vs Australia-A