The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has confirmed its squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2026-27 season, with Vishnu Vinod as the brand new captain of the Kerala state cricket crew, replacing Mohammed Azharuddeen. Mohammed Azharuddeen was the regular captain of the crew within the earlier Ranji Trophy season. In his absence, Vishnu Vidon performed a couple of matches as a stop-gap skipper.
In the 18-member crew, KCA did not identify their two stars, Sanju Samson and his brother Saly Samson, for his or her match opener towards Jharkhand in Jamshedpur. The squad KCA announced is only for the match towards Jharkhand. Which implies, later within the Ranji Trophy 2026-27 season, the Kerala Cricket Association has a excessive probability of constructing some adjustments of their squad.
A robust 18-member crew for Kerala
Regardless of the absence of the Samson brothers, the Kerala squad, on paper, appears to be like robust as they have enough firepower to throw a robust problem towards the Jharkhand cricket crew. The match can be in Jamshedpur, an project away from Kerala’s dwelling ground.
In the upcoming season, they will be one of the favorites to qualify for the final after their historic run within the 2024-25 season. In that earlier season, Kerala reached the Ranji Trophy final for the first time of their cricket historical past.
KCA has tried their greatest to type a well-balanced squad, comprising both experienced and rising abilities. The presence of seasoned campaigners like Sachin Child, Jalaj Saxena, and Basil N P is offering the crew with a solid look. If the Samson brothers make their appearance at some point within the match, then will probably be a significant 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 towards Jharkhand got here as a shock, as there was no Sanju Samson or Saly Samson. Saly Samson has made most of his identify as a limited-over cricketer, who is yet to make his debute his first-class debut for his state crew.
On the other side, Sanju Samson is more likely to miss multiple Ranji Trophy 2026-27 matches for Kerala because of his worldwide matches with the India nationwide cricket crew. In the beginning of the match, the star keeper-batter can be with the India nationwide cricket crew for the five-match dwelling T20I sequence towards the West Indies crew.
Why is Sanju Samson not in Kerala’s squad for the match in Jamshedpur?
The five-match T20I sequence will come to a conclusion on October 17, and the Jamshedpur vs Kerala Ranji Trophy 2026-27 match is scheduled to begin 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 Child, 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.
Source: cricketaddictor.com

