Duleep Trophy records: Most runs, wickets & best figures

The Duleep Trophy has stood as India’s most prestigious domestic red-ball tournament, a stage where the best players carve their names into the history of Indian cricket. The tournament’s legacy is built on the moments that continue to inspire the generations. In the previous season, several red-ball players, such as Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, performed well before the home season to prepare.

Diving into the records of most runs, most wickets, highest scores, and best bowling figures, we uncover the giants of the event. Whether it’s a marathon double century or a fiery spell that dismantles a batting lineup, the achievements remain a crucial proving ground for the cricketing elite of the country.

Most runs and highest scores in Duleep Trophy history

The former Indian batter, Wasim Jaffer, is the leading run-getter of the Duleep Trophy with 2545 runs in 54 innings at an average of 55.42 with eight centuries and 13 fifties, while Vinod Rathour and Aakash Chopra are also part of the top five list.

Most runs in Duleep Trophy history-

Player	Inns	Runs	Ave	50s/100s	HS
W Jaffer	54	2545	55.32	13/08	173*
V Rathour	45	2265	51.47	11/06	249
A Gaekwad	42	2004	52.73	04/09	216
A Sharma	37	1961	57.67	09/07	202
A Chopra	43	1918	53.27	08/06	205*

Among the highest individual scores of the competition, West Zone’s Sanjay Manjrekar finds himself at the fifth position of the table with 278 runs in 1987 while North Zone’s R Lamba is at the top with 320 runs.

Highest individual scores of Duleep Trophy history-

Player	Runs	Opposition	Year
R Lamba (North Zone)	320	West Zone	1987
G Khoda (Central Zone)	330*	South Zone	2001
S Bhave (West Zone)	292	South Zone	1994
Arun Lal (East Zone)	287	West Zone	1986
S Manjrekar (West Zone)	278	Central Zone	1987

Most wickets and best bowling figures in Duleep Trophy history

Narendra Hirwani is the leading wicket-taker of the Duleep Trophy, having picked up 126 wickets in 45 innings at an average of 34.12 with the help of eight five-wicket hauls.

Most wickets in Duleep Trophy history-

Player	Inns	Wkts	Ave	4W/5W	BBI
N Hirwani	45	126	34.12	10/08	7/129
S Bahutule	48	112	26.76	06/04	6/41
B Chandrasekhar	41	99	24.30	04/07	8/80
S Venkataraghavan	44	95	23.66	05/05	6/26
E Prasanna	38	83	22.36	04/06	6/19

Among the bowlers with the best bowling figures in the tournament, Saurabh Kumar is in third place for his 8/64 against East Zone, while last season Anshul Kamboj took 8/69 against India B.

Best bowling figures in Duleep Trophy history-

Player	BBI	Opposition	Season
D Mohanty (East Zone)	10/46	South Zone	2001
B Gupte (West Zone)	9/55	South Zone	1963
S Kumar (Central Zone)	8/64	East Zone	2023
Arshad Ayub (South Zone)	8/65	North Zone	1987
A Kamboj (India C)	8/69	India B	2024

History of the Duleep Trophy — From Zonal cricket to India's premier first-class tournament

The Duleep Trophy was first introduced in 1961-62 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as a tribute to the legendary Kumar Shri Duleepsinjhi. It’s a zonal event, where the teams representing regions like North, South, East, West, and Central India compete against each other.

Over time, the competition evolved, moving away from the traditional zonal system to other formats, including India Red, Blue, and Green teams, to ensure more balance and competitiveness. It stands as the premier fast-class tournament of the country, playing a vital role in grooming the future stars for international cricket.

Duleep Trophy 2026: Format, dates, and captains

The Duleep Trophy, in the 2026/27 season, will begin on August 23, when East Zone will face the North-East Zone in the BCCI CoE, along with North Zone coming up against West Zone. The final will take place on September 06.

Duleep Trophy 2026/27 fixtures-

Number	Fixture	Date	Venue
01	East Zone vs North-East Zone	Aug 23-26	CoE Ground 2
02	North Zone vs West Zone	Aug 23-26	CoE Ground 1
SF 01	Central Zone vs TBC	Aug 30- Sep 02	CoE Ground 01
SF 02	South Zone vs TBC	Aug 30- Sep 02	CoE Ground 02
Final	TBC vs TBC	Sep 06-10	CoE Ground 01

The six captains of the event in 2026/27 are: Kanhaiya Wadhawan, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajat Patidar, Ishan Kishan, and Techi Neri.

North Zone squad- Kanhaiya Wadhawan (Captain), Ayush Badoni (Vice-Captain), Sanat Sangwan, Qamran Iqbal, Yash Dhull, Ayush Doseja, Abdul Samad, Nishant Sindhu, Arjun Sharma, Abid Mushtaq, Arshdeep Singh, Sunil Kumar, Anshul Kamboj, Yudhvir Singh, Nikhil Kashyap.

South Zone squad- Tilak Varma (Captain), Ricky Bhui (Vice-Captain), Abhinav Tejrana, SK Rasheed, K Himateja, R Smaran, N Jagadeesan, Karun Nair, T Thyagarajan, Shreyas Gopal, K Sai Teja, T Vijay, V Kaverappa, Aman Khan, M D Nideesh.

West Zone squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Shams Mulani (vc), Prithvi Shaw, Harvik Desai (wk), Shivalik Sharma, Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Jaymeet Patel, Urvil Patel (wk), Siddharth Desai, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur, Atit Seth, Tushar Deshpande and Mukesh Chaudhary.

North-East Zone squad: Techi Neri, Robin Limboo, Bishworjit Singh Konthoujam, Imliwati Lemtur, Kishan Lyndoh, Joseph Lal Thankhuma, Arpit Subhas, Priyojit K, Ronald Meitei, Akash Kumar Choudhary, Vino G. Zhimomi, Lalrempuia, Jonathan Rongsen, Jotin Singh Pheiroijam, Ashish Thapa.

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

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