Sanju Samson was chosen on Thursday to lead Kerala in
the forthcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 competition, which will take place
from October 16 to November 6 at various locations. Kerala’s Group B tournament
campaign will get underway against Himachal Pradesh in Mumbai. Along with Sikkim,
Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Odisha, Services, and Chandigarh, Kerala and HP will
compete in the group. Samson is keen to demonstrate his talent with a few brash
performances in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy that would keep him in the consideration
of national selection.
Kerala will have added strength this time in the form
of all-rounder Shreyas Gopal, who has moved in from Karnataka last month.
The leg-spinner could be leading Kerala’s spin attack
in the company of veteran spinner Jalaj Saxena, who was the highest
wicket-taker in the last Ranji Trophy season with 50 scalps.
Promising Rohan Kunnummal is the vice-captain of the
side, while former Tamil Nadu cricketer M Venkataramana is the head coach of
Kerala this season.
Kerala squad: Sanju Samson (captain, wk), Rohan
Kunnummal (vice-captain), Shreyas Gopal, Jalaj Saxena, Sachin Baby, Mohammed
Azharuddeen, Vishnu Vinod, Abdul Basit, Sijomon Joseph, Vysakh Chandran, Basil
Thampi, KM Asif, Vinod Kumar, Manu Krishnan, Varun Nayanar, M. Ajnas, P.K.
Mithun, Salman Nissar.