"Great to be back in whites" - Sreesanth shares picture ahead of Ranji Trophy comeback

Sreesanth has been named in Kerala's 20-member squad for Ranji Trophy 2022 (Credit: AP)

Veteran pacer S Sreesanth has been included in Kerala's 20-member squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2022, scheduled to commence on February 17.

The Indian pacer returns to the first-class setup after a gap of almost nine years. The 2007 ICC T20 World Cup and 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup winner recently shared a picture of himself wearing the Kerala jersey days ahead of the first match.

Along with the picture, the fast bowler wrote:

"Gods grace and lots of hard work and perseverance..thanks a lot to each and everyone of u for keeping faith in my ability..Great to be back in whites❤️🙏🏻✌🏻🇮🇳🏏just the beginning..gonna keep giving my very best every single moment ❤️🏏✌🏻💯#humbled #skyisnotthelimit #love #bcci."

Gods grace and lots of hard work and perseverance..thanks a lot to each and everyone of u for keeping faith in my ability..Great to be back in whites❤️🙏🏻✌🏻🇮🇳🏏just the beginning..gonna keep giving my very best every single moment ❤️🏏✌🏻💯#humbled #skyisnotthelimit #love #bcci https://t.co/IfJLPzC1kU

The 39-year-old has featured in 73 first-class matches, picking up 211 wickets with the best figures of 5/40.

Meanwhile, seasoned campaigner Sachin Baby has been appointed captain of the 20-member squad. Kerala are pitted in Elite Group A alongside Andhra, Rajasthan, Hyderabad, Punjab, Gujarat, Delhi, Vidarbha and Bengal.

Squad: Sachin Baby (Cap), Vishnu Vinod (V.Cap, WK), Anand Krishnan, Rohan Kunnumel, Vatsal Govind, Rahul P, Salman Nizar, Jalaj Saxena, Sijomon Joseph, Akshay KC, Mithun S, Basil NP, Nideesh MD, Manu Krishnan, Basil Thampi, Fanoos F, Sreesanth S, Varun Nayanar, Vinoop Manoharan, Eden Apple Tom

Sreesanth enters IPL 2022 mega auction

Love u all..can’t thank u all enough..lots of gratitude ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️Thnks a lot..#grateful and alwys will be grateful to each and every try one of u..plss do keep me in ur prayers for final auction too..”om Nama Shivaya..” https://t.co/XAyBGx9IVU

The right-arm pacer is among the 590 cricketers who will go under the hammer in the ongoing IPL 2022 mega auction. He has set his reserve price at ₹50 lakh.

Sreesanth's last appearance in the IPL came way back in 2013 before he was handed a ban by the BCCI for his alleged role in match fixing. Overall, he has featured in 44 IPL matches, scalping 40 wickets at an economy of 8.14 runs per over.

The seasoned campaigner is yet to go under the hammer on Day 2 of the IPL 2022 mega auction in Bengaluru.