5 bowlers to watch out for in Duleep Trophy 2026/27

The 2026/27 season of the Duleep Trophy’s semifinal and league stage will be held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru from August 23 to September 10, where the six sides will feature in the first-class competition, including East Zone, North-East Zone, North Zone, West Zone, South Zone, and Central Zone. Some of the young bowlers, like Anshul Kamboj, will hope to regain the trust.

North-East Zone and East Zone will be up against each other in the first quarter-final at the CoE Ground 2 from August 23 to 26, while North Zone will face West Zone in the second quarter-final at the CoE Ground 01. The final will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on September 06.

Some of the pacers and spinners will look to test themselves against the strong batting lineups of the side and leave a mark in the selectors’ minds to earn a place in the national side.

From pace spearheads to spin specialists — 5 bowlers to watch out for in Duleep Trophy 2026/27

Here is a look at the top five bowlers to track for in the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2026/27-

#1 Arshdeep Singh (North Zone)-

The left-arm pacer, Arshdeep Singh, has become the premier bowler of the Indian side in the T20I format. He has shown his ability to move the ball in both ways to create trouble for the batters, especially inside the powerplay. The country has been trying its level best in finding its next long-term red-ball left-arm pacer since the retirement of Zaheer Khan.

Arshdeep, who has picked up 67 wickets in 38 innings in the FC cricket at an average of 30.68 and a strike rate of 57.60 with the help of two five-wicket hauls at the best figures of 6/40 in an innings, will look to hold his fitness and bowl a long spell and end the competition with so many wickets for the North Zone.

#2 Anshul Kamboj (North Zone)-

Anshul Kamboj has featured in one Test match for the Indian side, when he picked up one wicket during the fourth Test of the 2025 series at Old Trafford in Manchester against England. In first-class cricket, he has bagged 105 wickets in 58 innings at an average of 24.04, with two five-wicket hauls at the best bowling figures of 10/49 in an innings.

Kamboj has the skill of putting the ball in the same place over after over, which always makes it a nightmare situation for the batters to come up against. In the previous season of the Duleep Trophy, he collected a total of 16 wickets in three matches. Now, it’s time for him to continue the same impressive performance and win back the trust of the selectors.

#3 Shams Mulani (West Zone)-

The slow left-arm spin all-rounder of the Mumbai side, Shams Mulani, has been a prominent member of the domestic red-ball game. He has overall smashed 2523 runs in 83 innings at an average of 32.76, shouldering 21 fifties and one century, besides his 265 wickets in 105 innings at an average of 24.54, bagging 19 five-wicket hauls at the best figures of 7/146 in an innings.

Manav Suthar has been superb for the Indian side currently, but he will face fierce competition from Mulani once Ravindra Jadeja retires from the longest format of the game. In the previous Duleep Trophy season, he played one game and picked up six wickets and will hope to continue the same strong performance to break into the selection door of the national side.

#4 Tanush Kotian (West Zone)-

Tanush Kotian has also slowly progressed to be a strong contender for the Indian side as an off-spin all-rounder. India is in need of an off-spin all-rounder after the retirement of Ravichandran Ashwin, especially with Washington Sundar’s irregularity with the ball. Kotian could be the answer to the issue for the Indian side in that case.

The Mumbai-born has picked up 131 wickets in 78 innings of first-class cricket at an average of 27.48 and a strike rate of 48.20, with three five-wicket hauls at the best bowling figures of 5/58 in an innings, besides smacking 2168 runs in 65 innings at an average of 42.50, thanks to 17 half-centuries and two centuries at the best score of unbeaten 120 runs.

#5 Shardul Thakur (West Zone)-

Shardul Thakur has been left out of the Indian Test side after he played his last red-ball game in Manchester in 2025. He has so far picked up 33 wickets in 22 innings at an average of 31.03 and smashed 377 runs at an average of around 19, with four half-centuries at the best score of 67 runs.

Thakur, featuring for the North Zone side in the Duleep Trophy 2026/27, will be eager to show his skills with the ball and bat in hand to earn the selectors' faith back. India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, loves those players who can contribute with both bat and ball in hand in the lower order, and Shardul could be their solution in SENA countries.