Himachal Pradesh became the latest entrant on the Vijay Hazare Trophy winners list as they defeated Uttar Pradesh in the 2021 season of the limited-overs domestic tournament of Indian cricket. Starting in the 2002-03 season, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, named after the legendary Indian cricketer, has been won by 10 different teams so far with Tamil Nadu winning it the most number of times (five).
A total of 38 teams participate in this yearly tournament that is organized in a round-robin and playoff format. The Vijay Hazare winners so far, are Mumbai, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Bengal, Delhi, Jharkhand, Saurashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Railways.
Like the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament has also undergone numerous changes in the format. Until the 2014-15 Vijay Hazare season, the format had divided 28 teams into five zonal groups – Central, North, South, East and West – that preceded the knockout stages.
While the Central and North zones had six teams each, the remaining had five teams. The teams from each zone played each other following which the winners of the five zones advanced to the quarter-final stage. The four best runners-up sides from the five zones proceeded to play the pre-quarterfinals. The two pre-quarterfinal stage winners then advanced to the quarter-final stages. This format changed in the 2015-16 season when the zonal groups were changed into four groups having seven teams each.
That format further changed from the 2018-19 season with the concept of elite group and plate group coming in. The current format has the 38 state teams split into three elite groups and one plate group. While the first two elite groups consist of nine top teams each, the third one has 10 teams. The solitary plate group has nine new teams. All the teams are segregated according to their average points from their previous three seasons in the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament.
In the current format, the first two seasons – 2002-03 and 2003-04 – saw a final round-robin stage being held for the top teams from each zone before that changed into a playoff-style knockout for the semi-finals and final matches.
Below is the full Vijay Hazare winners list yearwise.
Vijay Hazare Trophy Winners list: 2002 to 2021
| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
| 2021 | Himachal Pradesh | Tamil Nadu |
| 2020-21 | Mumbai | Uttar Pradesh |
| 2019 | Karnataka | Tamil Nadu |
| 2018 | Mumbai | Delhi |
| 2017-18 | Karnataka | Saurashtra |
| 2016-17 | Tamil Nadu | Bengal |
| 2015-16 | Gujarat | Delhi |
| 2014-15 | Karnataka | Punjab |
| 2013-14 | Karnataka | Railways |
| 2012-13 | Delhi | Assam |
| 2011-12 | Bengal | Mumbai |
| 2010-11 | Jharkhand | Gujarat |
| 2009-10 | Tamil Nadu | Bengal |
| 2008-09 | Tamil Nadu | Bengal |
| 2007-08 | Saurashtra | Bengal |
| 2006-07 | Mumbai | Rajasthan |
| 2005-06 | Railways | Uttar Pradesh |
| 2004-05 | Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh | NA |
| 2003-04 | Mumbai | Bengal |
| 2002-03 | Tamil Nadu | Punjab |
Vijay Hazare Trophy: Records
The tournament’s inaugural edition in 2002-03 was won by Tamil Nadu, who had beaten Punjab to lift the title. Since then, Tamil Nadu have gone on to win the t0urnament in 2002-03, 2004-05, 2008-09, 2009-10 and in 2016-17. Tamil Nadu had shared the trophy with Uttar Pradesh in the 2004-2005 season.
The other team to have won the Vijay Hazare Trophy multiple times is Karnataka. Since their maiden title win in the 2013-14 season, Karnatka have gone on to win the limited-overs trophy in 2013-14, 2014-15, 2017-18 and 2019-20.
The other teams to get their hands on the Vijay Hazare Trophy are Bengal, Railways, Delhi, Jharkhand, Gujrat, Saurashtra and Himachal Pradesh, all of whom have lifted the trophy only once.
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are the only two sides to have won Vijaya Hazare Trophy in consecutive seasons. While TN achieved had defended their title in 2008-09 and 2009-10, Karnataka did it in years 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Himachal Pradesh became the latest team to etch their name on this trophy after they defeated five-time winners Tamil Nadu in the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy final. Vidarbha’s Yash Thakur was the highest wicket-taker in the 2021 season with 18 wickets to his name in seven games. Maharasthra’s Ruturaj Gaikwad was the highest run-sc0rer, tallying 603 runs in five games.
Vijay Hazare Trophy Winners list: Zone Wise (1993-2002)
| Year | Zone winners | ||||
| Central | East | North | South | West | |
| 1993–94 | Uttar Pradesh | Bengal | Haryana | Karnataka | Bombay |
| 1994–95 | Madhya Pradesh | Bengal | Punjab | Hyderabad | Maharashtra |
| 1995–96 | Uttar Pradesh | Bengal | Haryana | Karnataka | Bombay |
| 1996–97 | Madhya Pradesh | Assam | Delhi | Tamil Nadu | Mumbai |
| 1997–98 | Madhya Pradesh | Bengal | Delhi | Tamil Nadu | Mumbai |
| 1998–99 | Madhya Pradesh | Bengal | Punjab | Karnataka | Mumbai |
| 1999–00 | Madhya Pradesh | Bengal | Delhi | Tamil Nadu | Mumbai |
| 2000–01 | Madhya Pradesh | Orissa | Punjab | Tamil Nadu | Mumbai |
| 2001–02 | Railways | Orissa | Punjab | Karnataka | Mumbai |
The most successful team from 1993-2002, when the tournament was zonal, was Mumbai. They had won it eight times of the nine seasons played with Maharashtra winning it once. Mumbai’s dominance in the west zone couldn’t be repeated by any other team of the remaining four zones.
The South Zone saw Tamil Nadu and Karnataka winning the intra-zone competition four times each with Hyderabad clinching the title once. The North zone had three different winners – Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. However, Punjab and Delhi had won it four times each.
Bengal won it six times from the East zone with Assam (1) and Odissa (2) clinching it the remaining times, while Madhya Pradesh dominated in the Central zone with six wins. Uttar Pradesh and Railways have also won it.
FAQs
Who is the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022 winner?
Himachal Pradesh are the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022 winner. They defeated Tamil Nadu in the final.
What are the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22 venues?
The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22 venues are Bandra Kurla Complex, Brabourne Stadium, Dadoji Konddev Stadium, St Xavier’s College Ground, Greenfield International Stadium, KCA Cricket Ground, Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Sector 16 Stadium, Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium C, Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, JSCA International Stadium Complex, JSCA Oval Ground, Metallurgical and Engineering Consultant Ltd Sail Stadium, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, KL Saini Ground, Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground and Soul Feel Cricket Stadium.
