Overview
- The 63rd Duleep Trophy begins Sunday, August 23, with two quarterfinals at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and a final scheduled September 6–10 at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium to allow spectators.
- Six zonal teams play a straight knockout format with Central Zone and South Zone seeded directly into the semifinals and the other four zones contesting quarterfinals in Bengaluru.
- All matches will be streamed on JioHotstar in India and the final will be televised on Star Sports, with reporting that no international broadcast or streaming rights are available outside India.
- A report on August 22 said Indian team management will keep reserve players with the touring party in Colombo rather than releasing them to zonal squads, a developing move that may make some named players unavailable for at least the quarterfinals.
- That availability change matters for players and selectors because the Duleep Trophy is used as a red‑ball audition for India A and future Test consideration, so reduced access to reserves could alter team lineups and selection assessments.