The Duleep Trophy 2026-27 is set to kick off India’s new domestic red-ball season with six zonal teams battling for the prestigious title. The 63rd edition of the tournament will feature North Zone, South Zone, East Zone, West Zone, Central Zone and North East Zone, returning to the traditional zonal format after the India A, India B, India C and India D setup used in 2024-25.

The tournament is scheduled to begin on August 23, 2026, with the league/knockout fixtures being staged at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The final has subsequently been shifted to the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, allowing spectators to attend the summit clash.

Several established India players and exciting domestic prospects feature in the six squads. Rajat Patidar will lead defending champions Central Zone, while South Zone will be captained by Tilak Varma. Ishan Kishan will lead East Zone, Ruturaj Gaikwad will captain West Zone, Kanhaiya Wadhawan will head North Zone and Jonathan Rongsen will lead North East Zone.

Here is a complete look at the Duleep Trophy 2026-27 squads:

North Zone Squad

Kanhaiya Wadhawan will captain North Zone and also take responsibility behind the stumps. The squad contains several players with IPL and domestic experience, including Arshdeep Singh, Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad.

Arshdeep’s inclusion is one of the major talking points, while Qamran Iqbal’s selection gives Jammu and Kashmir another representative in the squad.

Full squad:
Kanhaiya Wadhawan (c & wk), Ayush Badoni (vc), Sanat Sangwan, Yash Dhull, Ayush Doseja, Nishant Sindhu, Anshul Kamboj, Nikhil Kashyap, Qamran Iqbal, Abdul Samad, Abid Mushtaq, Sunil Kumar, Yudhvir Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Arjun Sharma.

South Zone Squad

Tilak Varma will lead South Zone after the team finished runners-up in the previous edition. Ricky Bhui has been appointed vice-captain and will also serve as one of the wicketkeeping options.

The squad includes experienced batters such as Karun Nair alongside promising names including SK Rasheed and R Smaran.

South Zone will hope Tilak’s leadership and the experience of players such as Karun Nair and Shreyas Gopal can help them go one step further this season.

Full squad:
Tilak Varma (c), Ricky Bhui (vc & wk), SK Rasheed, K Sai Teja, T Vijay, Abhinav Tejrana, K Himateja, T Thyagarajan, R Smaran, Karun Nair, Shreyas Gopal, V Kaverappa, MD Nidheesh, N Jagadeesan (wk), Aman Khan.

East Zone Squad

East Zone arguably possesses one of the most intriguing squads of the tournament, with Ishan Kishan appointed captain and teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi named vice-captain.

The squad also includes experienced India pacer Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar and Abhimanyu Easwaran.

The presence of Sooryavanshi will attract enormous attention. The youngster has been handed the vice-captaincy despite his limited first-class experience, while Shami’s return to domestic red-ball cricket adds considerable experience to the bowling department.

Full squad:
Ishan Kishan (c & wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (vc), Denish Das, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Shikhar Mohan, Anukul Roy, Virat Singh, Subhranshu Senapati, Abhijit Sarkar.

West Zone Squad

West Zone will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, with Mumbai all-rounder Shams Mulani serving as his deputy.

The squad is packed with familiar names, including Prithvi Shaw, Shardul Thakur, Musheer Khan, Tanush Kotian and Tushar Deshpande.

Jay Gohil’s inclusion is particularly notable after he replaced Sarfaraz Khan. He scored 523 runs at an average of 58.11 during the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season.

Full squad:
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Shams Mulani (vc), Atit Sheth, Shivalik Sharma, Jaymeet Patel, Urvil Patel (wk), Siddharth Desai, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Choudhary, Shardul Thakur, Musheer Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Tanush Kotian, Harvik Desai (wk), Jay Gohil.

Central Zone Squad

Defending champions Central Zone will once again be led by Rajat Patidar, with Rinku Singh appointed vice-captain.

The team contains several players who were part of Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh’s recent domestic success, including Harsh Dubey, Yash Rathod and Yash Thakur.

Central Zone will enter the competition as the team to beat after defeating South Zone in last season’s final.

Full squad:
Rajat Patidar (c), Rinku Singh (vc), Ayush Pandey, Saransh Jain, Aryan Pandey, Arshad Khan, Kunal Singh Rathod (wk), Aryan Juyal (wk), Zeeshan Ansari, Kunal Chandela, Aman Mokhade, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Yash Thakur, Nachiket Bhute.

North East Zone Squad

North East Zone will be led by experienced Nagaland batter Jonathan Rongsen, with Bishworjit Singh Konthoujam serving as vice-captain.

The squad features players from several northeastern states, making it an important platform for emerging regional talent.

Full squad:

Jonathan Rongsen (c), Bishworjit Singh Konthoujam (vc), Techi Neri, Priyojit K, Ronald Meitei, Jotin Singh Pheiroijam, Kishan Lyngdoh, Arpit Subhas (wk), Akash Kumar Choudhary, Joseph Lalthankhuma, Lalrempouia, Imliwati Lemtur, Vino G Zhimomi, Robin Limboo, Ashish Thapa (wk).