The Duleep Trophy will return to its traditional inter-zonal format this season and is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru from August 28 to September 15. The tournament will be played in a traditional knockout format at the Centre of Excellence grounds, featuring six zones: South, Central, West, East, North, and North-East.
South Zone and West Zone have already received direct entries into the semifinals. The two quarterfinals, North Zone vs East Zone and Central Zone vs North-East Zone, will open the tournament from August 28 to 31. The semifinals are slated for September 4 to 7, with the final scheduled to begin on September 11.
Notably, the Duleep Trophy underwent several format changes in recent years. From 2016-17 to 2019-20, the competition featured four teams labelled India A, B, C, and D, formed by national selectors. The zonal format was restored in the 2022-23 season but briefly replaced again by the A-B-C-D model last year. Following a BCCI decision at its last Annual General Meeting, the tournament has now officially reverted to the zonal format.
Nagpur to host Irani Cup
Nagpur will host the upcoming Irani Cup. Vidarbha, last season’s Ranji Trophy champions, are set to take on the Rest of India in the annual five-day fixture. The venue was decided to honour Ranji champions with home advantage.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on Karun Nair at the moment. He was a key figure in Vidarbha’s title-winning campaign, but recently switched back to Karnataka. However, he was not picked for the South Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy, casting doubt on whether he will represent Vidarbha in the Irani Cup.
In other domestic movements, pacer Rasikh Salam has shifted from Jammu & Kashmir to Baroda after obtaining an NOC from JKCA. He joins Jitesh Sharma, who also moved to Baroda from Vidarbha. On the women’s circuit, Baroda has bolstered its squad by signing experienced campaigners Shikha Pandey and Poonam Khemnar for the upcoming season.