Ranji Trophy 2015-16: Sanju Samson’s litmus Test as Kerala captain

Kerala has given India a few famous names, in Tinu Yohannan and S Sreesanth. Kerala was also a recluse for Sadagoppan Ramesh and Sujith Somasundar, who found a way away from home after leaving their respective states. KN Ananthapadmanabhan, the greatest cricketer in the history of the state, was unfortunate to have an overlap with the career of Anil Kumble. Krishna Chandran Karate, who played for UAE in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, also hails from Kerala. In Ranji Trophy 2014-15 Kerala were not at their best and won only a solitary game against Services and had as many as six draws. Their sole loss came against rivals Andhra. For the upcoming season, they have appointed the youngster Sanju Samson as their captain and will hope that he leads the team both in terms of his captaincy and batting.

Schedule:

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Squad: Sanju Samson (c), VA Jagadeesh, Akshay Kodoth, Rohan Prem, Sachin Baby, Raiphi Vincent Gomez, Monish SK, Fabid Farooque Ahmed, Sandeep S Warrier, Ahmed Farzeen, Nideesh MD, Nizar Niyas, Robert Fernandez, Nikhilesh Surendran, Akshay Chandran.

Key players:

Sanju Samson: It does not come as a surprise that Samson has been named the captain of Kerala. He was the highest run-scorer for Kerala in the previous season, scoring 475 runs at 47.50 with a ton and a half-century. He will have the added responsibility of captaining the side and he will want to do full justice to it but ensure it does not affect his batting.

Sachin Baby: Apart from Samson, Baby was the only other player to register a double-hundred for Kerala in the previous Ranji Trophy season. In fact, of the 7 double-hundreds in the history of Kerala, Samson has hit 2 and Baby 1. Baby will hope he can live up to the expectations off him and help Samson build a good team for the future of Kerala cricket. Baby will also look to chip in with wickets off his bowling.

Raiphi Vincent Gomez: Gomez picked up 6 wickets at an average of 32.67 last season. Along with his bowling he chipped in with a few handy cameos with the bat scoring a couple of fifties. The all-rounder will have to step up the plate.

Nizar Niyas: With no Amit Verma (who had scored a hundred on debut for Kerala last season) in the squad, Niyas will hope to lead the bowling attack with Rohan Prem. Both of them picked up 12 wickets each in 2014-15 and will want to do one better and help their side win more games. They will be playing five games at home this season and it provides the two bowlers good time to get used to the conditions.