The Deodhar Trophy is one of the popular domestic One-Day tournaments in India that has already set a high benchmark for it, among the cricket administrators and cricket enthusiasts in India. The trophy has a rich history and tradition since it started its journey in the years of 1973-74 and it is also played on a zonal basis, just like the other famous trophies such as Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) launched the tournament in 1973-74 and named the trophy after the grand old man of Indian Cricket - the Late Prof. Dinkar Balwant Deodhar. Mr. Deodhar was one of the premier first class batsmen, who led the Maharashtra team, with distinction. He died in 1993 at the age of 101 at his birthplace, Pune.
The format of the 50-over tournament is mainly a league format, where a number of 5 zonal teams compete with each other for the trophy. The five zones are named as the North zone, South zone, East zone, West zone and Central Zone and an interesting thing about the tournament is that there is no semi-final or final in the Deodhar Trophy. The BCCI announce the team that earns the most of the points after all the matches, as the winner of the tournament. All the teams have to play with each other in the tournament, as there is no group division in the Deodhar Trophy.
The first season of the Deodhar Trophy that is the 1973-74 saw the South Zone winning the trophy. The South Zone has won the trophy for several times in the later period also. However, the record of winning the Deodhar Trophy for most of the times is held by the North Zone that won the trophy for as many as 11 times. The North Zone won the Trophy in the season of 2005-06 for the last time, so far. The tournament is considered as a List A cricket competition in India. The Central Zone was the winner of the last edition of the tournament, the 2007-08 competitions.
The winners` list of the Deodhar Trophy so far is given below:
| Year |
Winning Zone |
Year |
Winning Zone |
| 1973-74 |
South Zone |
1991-92 |
South Zone |
| 1974-75 |
South Zone |
1992-93 |
East Zone |
| 1975-76 |
South Zone |
1993-94 |
East Zone |
| 1976-77 |
Central Zone |
1994-95 |
Central Zone |
| 1977-78 |
North Zone |
1995-96 |
North Zone |
| 1978-79 |
South Zone |
1996-97 |
East Zone |
| 1979-80 |
West Zone |
1997-98 |
North Zone |
| 1980-81 |
South Zone |
1998-99 |
Central Zone |
| 1981-82 |
South Zone |
1999-2000 |
North Zone |
| 1982-83 |
West Zone |
2000-01 |
South Zone / Central Zone |
| 1983-84 |
West Zone |
2001-02 |
South Zone |
| 1984-85 |
West Zone |
2002-03 |
North Zone |
| 1985-86 |
West Zone |
2003-04 |
East Zone |
| 1986-87 |
North Zone |
2004-05 |
North Zone |
| 1987-88 |
North Zone |
2005-06 |
North Zone |
| 1988-89 |
North Zone |
2006-07 |
West Zone |
| 1989-90 |
North Zone |
2007-08 |
Central Zone |
| 1990-91 |
West Zone |
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