The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Apex Council meeting, which met today in Kolkata, has decided that they’ll revert back to the old system for the Duleep Trophy for the 2025-26 domestic season.
Zones back in Duleep Trophy
Last year, the BCCI decided that they’d scrap the zonal system, which divided 38 domestic teams into six zones. Instead, BCCI opted for four India teams: A, B, C, and D.
Now, BCCI decided they would get back to the zonal system. Just like last year, the Duleep Trophy will kick off the domestic system. The domestic red-ball tournament was played in September, and just 6 matches were played.
The rules will remain the same as before. Also, the BCCI had decided that starting from the Duleep Trophy 2025-26 season, scorers will be paid Rs 15,000 per domestic game.
Historically, West Zone has been the best team in the tournament. That’s primarily because Mumbai is placed in the group.
Duleep Trophy: Teams by Zone
| Teams | |
|---|---|
| North Zone | Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Services |
| South Zone | Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Hyderabad, Karnataka, Kerala, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu |
| East Zone | Assam, Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura |
| West Zone | Baroda, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Saurashtra |
| Central Zone | Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Railways, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha |
| North East Zone | Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim |
