Sachin Baby has replaced Rohan Prem as the captain of Kerala for the upcoming season of Ranji Trophy.
Both the players had good outings with the bat in the last season. While Prem had scored 662 runs in nine outings with the help of two centuries and four half-centuries, Baby had amassed 624 runs in as many outings courtesy one century and five fifties.
However, the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has decided to give the responsibility of leading the team to Baby who led the team in the limited-overs format last season.
The decision seemed to have been prompted by the team’s poor outing last season. Kerala had drawn seven games last season, which was more than any team had managed, and consequently, failed to reach the knockouts after finishing fifth in the group. They had won just a solitary game and will be hoping for a turnaround in their fortunes under a new skipper. They have also roped in former Sri Lanka and Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore as their head coach now.
Meanwhile, Kerala’s batting lineup wears a formidable look with the likes of Sanju Samson and Arun Karthik in the team alongside Baby and Prem. The bowling department also looks quite strong with Basil Thampi and Sandeep Warrier looking set to lead the pace attack. In the absence of Iqbal Abdulla, Karaparambil Monish is likely to lead the spin attack
Meanwhile, former Under-19 players Daryl Ferrario and Sijomon Joseph got included in the standby list. Ferrario’s inclusion depends on the fitness test.
Kerala are clubbed in Group B alongside defending champions Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Saurashtra.
Squad:
Sachin Baby (C), Sanju Samson, Rohan Prem, Arun Karthik, Jalaj Saxena, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wk), Akshay Chandran, Salman Nizar, Sandeep Warrier, Basil Thampi, Karaparambil Monish, MD Nidheesh, Rahul P, Vishnu Vinod, Mohammed Asif
Standbys:
Fabid Farook, Athif Bin Ashraf, Sijomon Joseph, Akshay KC, Daryl Ferrario (Subject to fitness clearance)