Sanju Samson named captain as Kerala announce their SMAT 2024-25 squad
Team India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has been named as the skipper of his domestic side Kerala ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25. The squad was announced today, November 19.
Samson was most recently a part of the Indian team that played in South Africa in the four match T20I series. He played a crucial role for the Men in Blue as the 30 year old scored two tons in a series, helping Team India win by 3-1. He was also awarded the Player of the Match in the series opener for his blistering ton.
Samson returns to the domestic circuit after having good outings in international cricket against Bangladesh and South Africa home and away. This will be his first domestic tournament since the Duleep Trophy, where he represented India D.
Kerala squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25: Sanju Samson (c), Sachin Baby, Rohan Kunnummal, Jalaj Saxena, Vishnu Vinod, Mohd. Azharudeen, Basil Thampi, S Nizar, Abdul Basith, A Scaria, Ajnas EM, Sijomon Joseph, Midhun S, Vaisakh Chandran, Vinod Kumar CV, Basil NP, Sharafudeen NM, and Nidheesh MD.
The squad named above sees the senior players - Samson, Sachin Baby, Rohan Kunnummal, and Jalaj Saxena - retain their place in the squad with Vishnu Vinod, Mohammed Azharudeen, Basil Thampi and Abdul Basith also being present.
Kerala placed in Group E for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25
Kerala are placed in Group E alongside Services, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Mumbai, Goa, and Andhra. They kick start their campaign on November 23 against Services and end their group stage campaign against hosts Andhra on December 3 at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad.
Once the group stages are done, ten teams will qualify for the pre-quarterfinals, which will be played on December 9. The quarterfinals and the semi-finals are scheduled to take place on December 11 and December 13 with the finals to take place on December 15. All the knockout matches will be hosted in Bengaluru with the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium hosting the final.