Dinkar Balwant Deodhar was an enigma. Not only did his career span across the two World Wars, but he also went on to become one of the few Indian cricketers who lived past the age of 100 years (died in 1993). In his honor, the Board of Control for cricket in India introduced a List A competition in 1973-74. An interzonal competition at the start, the Deodhar Trophy was thus named after the Grand Old Man of Indian Cricket.
Being a List A tournament, the matches follow the One Day International format. The initial editions saw five zonal teams. Two of these teams would contest a quarterfinal, the winner of which would join the other sides in a knock-out format. This format continued till 2014-15. From the following season till 2018-19, the tournament was played between the winner of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India A, and India B. Each team played the other in a round-robin format, at the end of which the two best sides contested the final.
The 2019 edition saw the participation of three teams – India A, India B, and India C. Members of each team of the Deodhar Trophy are chosen by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Each team plays the other in a round-robin format, and the top two teams play the final.
In 2023, the tournament returned back to its zonal format. The five teams were Central Zone, East Zone, West Zone, North Zone, South Zone, and North East Zone. The format continued to be a league stage in round-robin format followed by the final. Since 2024, the tournament was discontinued from the domestic season with no definite prospect of being scrapped.
