The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has confirmed its squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2026-27 season, with Vishnu Vinod as the new captain of the Kerala state cricket team, replacing Mohammed Azharuddeen. Mohammed Azharuddeen was the regular captain of the team in the previous Ranji Trophy season. In his absence, Vishnu Vidon played a few matches as a stop-gap skipper.
In the 18-member team, KCA did not name their two stars, Sanju Samson and his brother Saly Samson, for their tournament opener against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur. The squad KCA announced is only for the match against Jharkhand. Which means, later in the Ranji Trophy 2026-27 season, the Kerala Cricket Association has a high chance of making some changes in their squad.
Despite the absence of the Samson brothers, the Kerala squad, on paper, looks strong as they have enough firepower to throw a strong challenge against the Jharkhand cricket team. The match will be in Jamshedpur, an assignment away from Kerala's home ground.
In the upcoming season, they will be one of the favorites to qualify for the final after their historic run in the 2024-25 season. In that previous season, Kerala reached the Ranji Trophy final for the first time in their cricket history.
KCA has tried their best to form a well-balanced squad, comprising both experienced and emerging talents. The presence of seasoned campaigners like Sachin Baby, Jalaj Saxena, and Basil N P is providing the team with a solid look. If the Samson brothers make their appearance at some point in the tournament, then it will be a major boost for Kerala.
No Sanju Samson and Saly Samson in Kerala's squad for the Jharkhand match
The Kerala squad for the Ranji Trophy 2026-27 match against Jharkhand came as a surprise, as there was no Sanju Samson or Saly Samson. Saly Samson has made most of his name as a limited-over cricketer, who is yet to make his debute his first-class debut for his state team.
On the other side, Sanju Samson is likely to miss multiple Ranji Trophy 2026-27 matches for Kerala because of his international matches with the India national cricket team. At the beginning of the tournament, the star keeper-batter will be with the India national cricket team for the five-match home T20I series against the West Indies team.
Why is Sanju Samson not in Kerala's squad for the match in Jamshedpur?
The five-match T20I series will come to a conclusion on October 17, and the Jamshedpur vs Kerala Ranji Trophy 2026-27 match is scheduled to start on October 11, which will officially run till October 14.
Kerala squad for the opening match of the Ranji Trophy 2026-27: Vishnu Vinod (c), Rohan S Kunnummal, Abhishek J Nair, Abhishek P Nair, Sachin Baby, Ahammed Imran, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wk), Salman Nizar, Varun Nayanar (wk), Jalaj Saxena, Vaisakh Chandran, Aditya Anand Sarvate, Anuraj J S, Abhijith Praveen V, Nidheesh M D, Eden Apple Tom, Pavan Raj and Basil N P.
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