Duleep Trophy 2026-27 Final Relocated to Chennai for Fan Access

The Duleep Trophy 2026-27 final has been moved to Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium to allow fans to attend the match live. Scheduled from September 6 to 10, this decision by the BCCI aims to enhance spectator experience, as the tournament kicks off on August 23 at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. With all matches being streamed live and select games broadcast on television, cricket enthusiasts can look forward to an exciting season. The East Zone squad features notable players like Ishan Kishan and Mohammed Shami, promising thrilling performances. Discover more about the tournament and the teams involved.

By Narendra Chaudhary Aug 19, 2026, 23:53 IST

Duleep Trophy Final Moves to Chennai

The final of the Duleep Trophy for the 2026-27 season has been relocated from the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. This change is intended to enhance spectator attendance for this prestigious domestic first-class match.

Scheduled from September 6 to 10, the final will follow the tournament's initial matches, which will still take place at the CoE starting August 23. The opening games will feature East Zone against Northeast Zone and North Zone competing against West Zone, as per the announcement from the BCCI.

BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia emphasized that the decision was made to allow fans to witness the final live. He stated, “The Duleep Trophy holds significant importance in our cricket calendar and has a rich history. We want fans to experience the excitement of the final in person.”

Saikia also noted that due to crowd restrictions at the CoE, moving the final to a more accessible venue was deemed necessary.

In addition, the BCCI has expanded the tournament's broadcast reach, ensuring that all matches will be streamed live, with select quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final available on television.

For their opening match, East Zone has appointed wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan as captain, with the promising Vaibhav Sooryavanshi serving as vice-captain. This selection allows Sooryavanshi to further hone his skills in red-ball cricket following his impressive performances in the IPL and on the international stage.

Sooryavanshi, who has played eight first-class matches and scored 207 runs with a top score of 93, is expected to open the batting alongside the seasoned Abhimanyu Easwaran from Bengal.

Easwaran, with over 100 first-class matches under his belt, aims to regain his form after being dropped from the India A team late last year. Jharkhand's Shikhar Mohan, who had a stellar debut Ranji Trophy season with 613 runs, will serve as a reserve opener.

The East Zone squad also includes experienced Indian pacers Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar. Shami returns after a remarkable Ranji Trophy season in 2025-26, where he took 37 wickets in seven matches, and is expected to spearhead the pace attack alongside Mukesh and Bengal's Suraj Jaiswal.

Kishan will don the gloves, with Kumar Kushagra as his deputy. The squad also features Virat Singh and Anukul Roy from Jharkhand, along with Bengal all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed and Tripura's Abhijit Sarkar.

Completing the East Zone squad are Odisha's Subranshu Senapati and Bengal's Denish Das.

The Duleep Trophy will kick off at the Bengaluru CoE, with the final moving to Chennai, providing fans the chance to witness the first major domestic first-class final of the season in a traditional cricket venue.

All squads for Duleep Trophy 2026-27

North Zone Squad: Kanhaiya Wadhawan (Captain & Wicketkeeper) (Jammu & Kashmir), Ayush Badoni (Vice-captain) (Delhi), Sanat Sangwan (Delhi), Yash Dhull (Delhi), Ayush Doseja (Delhi), Nishant Sindhu (Haryana), Anshul Kamboj (Haryana), Nikhil Kashyap (Haryana), Qamran Iqbal (Jammu & Kashmir), Abdul Samad (Jammu & Kashmir), Abid Mushtaq (Jammu & Kashmir), Sunil Kumar (Jammu & Kashmir), Yudhvir Singh (Jammu & Kashmir), Arshdeep Singh (Punjab), Arjun Sharma (Services).

Central Zone Squad: Rajat Patidar (Captain) (Madhya Pradesh), Rinku Singh (Vice-captain) (Uttar Pradesh), Ayush Pandey (Chhattisgarh), Saransh Jain (Madhya Pradesh), Aryan Pandey (Madhya Pradesh), Arshad Khan (Madhya Pradesh), Kunal Singh Rathod (Wicketkeeper) (Rajasthan), Aryan Juyal (Wicketkeeper) (Uttar Pradesh), Zeeshan Ansari (Uttar Pradesh), Kunal Chandela (Uttarakhand), Aman Mokhade (Vidarbha), Yash Rathod (Vidarbha), Harsh Dubey (Vidarbha), Yash Thakur (Vidarbha), Nachiket Bhute (Vidarbha).

South Zone Squad: Tilak Varma (Captain) (Hyderabad), Ricky Bhui (Vice-captain & Wicketkeeper) (Andhra), SK Rasheed (Andhra), K Sai Teja (Andhra), T Vijay (Andhra), Abhinav Tejrana (Goa), K Himateja (Hyderabad), T Thyagarajan (Hyderabad), R Smaran (Karnataka), Karun Nair (Karnataka), Shreyas Gopal (Karnataka), V Kaverappa (Karnataka), MD Nidheesh (Kerala), N Jagadeesan (Wicketkeeper) (Tamil Nadu), Aman Khan (Pondicherry).

East Zone Squad: Ishan Kishan (Captain & Wicketkeeper) (Jharkhand), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Vice-Captain) (Bihar), Denish Das (Assam), Abhimanyu Easwaran (Bengal), Sudip Kumar Gharami (Bengal), Shahbaz Ahmed (Bengal), Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (Bengal), Mohd Shami (Bengal), Mukesh Kumar (Bengal), Kumar Kushagra (Wicketkeeper) (Jharkhand), Shikhar Mohan (Jharkhand), Anukul Roy (Jharkhand), Virat Singh (Jharkhand), Subhranshu Senapati (Odisha), Abhijit Sarkar (Tripura).

West Zone Squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain) (Maharashtra), Shams Mulani (Vice-captain) (Mumbai), Atit Sheth (Baroda), Shivalik Sharma (Baroda), Jaymeet Patel (Gujarat), Urvil Patel (Wicketkeeper) (Gujarat), Siddharth Desai (Gujarat), Prithvi Shaw (Maharashtra), Mukesh Choudhary (Maharashtra), Shardul Thakur (Mumbai), Musheer Khan (Mumbai), Tushar Deshpande (Mumbai), Tanush Kotian (Mumbai), Harvik Desai (Wicketkeeper) (Saurashtra), Jay Gohil (Saurashtra).

North East Zone: Jonathan Rongsen (Captain) (Nagaland), Bishworjit Singh Konthoujam (Vice-Captain) (Manipur), Techi Neri (Arunachal Pradesh), Priyojit K (Manipur), Ronald Meitei (Manipur), Jotin Singh Pheiroijam (Manipur), Kishan Lyngdoh (Meghalaya), Arpit Subhas (Wicketkeeper) (Meghalaya), Akash Kumar Choudhary (Meghalaya), Joseph Lalthankhuma (Mizoram), Lalrempouia (Mizoram), Imliwati Lemtur (Nagaland), Vino G Zhimomi (Nagaland), Robin Limboo (Sikkim), Ashish Thapa (Wicketkeeper) (Sikkim).