Sahil Malhotra
NEW DELHI: Days after playing the three-T20Is vs Bangladesh, Sanju Samson has made himself for Kerala‘s 2nd round of the Ranji Trophy starting October 18.
Kerala take on Karnataka in an away fixture in Alur from Friday and the wicketkeeper-batter reached out to P Prasanth, chairman of senior selection committee, and confirmed his availability.
“Yes, Sanju Samson reached out to me and confirmed his availability for the next game.He will be playing the match vs Karnataka in Alur,” says Prasanth.
Kerala won their opening game against Punjab by eight wickets and Samson’s addition will be a big boost for the Sachin Baby-led unit. Baby was announced as captain before the start of the season and will continue to lead the side as the selectors feel it will give the squad much needed continuity.
“For now, Sanju’s availability for this game is confirmed. His future availability depends on his India commitments. So that’s why Baby will continue to lead the side,” adds Prasanth.
Samson recently featured in the Duleep Trophy where he scored a century and a couple of impressive 40s for India D. He was behind the stumps with the big gloves in both the games but Prasanth isn’t sure whether he would keep wickets for Kerala in the October 18 fixture.
“That the coach and all will take the call along with Sanju. Whether he keeps or not is totally up to them,” says Prasanth.
Kerala are placed alongside Bengal, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in Group C of the ongoing Ranji Trophy, and a convincing win in the opening fixture would have done their confidence a world of good.
Before the season, they roped in Baba Aparajith, who played for India U-19 in the past and has been a consistent performer for Tamil Nadu, as a professional and the all-rounder made vital contributions with both bat and ball.
Kerala squad:
Sanju Samson , Sachin Baby, Mohammed Azharuddeen , Vishnu Vinod, KM Asif, Basil Thampi, Baba Aparajith, Jalaj Saxena, Aditya Sarwate, MD Nidheesh, Akshay Chandran, Fazil Fanoos, Vathsal Govind, Krishna Prasad, Rohan Kunnummal, Salman Nizar, Basil NP.