Ranji Trophy 2018/19 - Kerala Retains Sachin Baby as Captain

Following the tremendous success of Kerala in the previous edition of Ranji Trophy under the captaincy of Sachin Baby, the respective Kerala Cricket Board once again wants to keep their money on the youngster. Meanwhile, players who raised concerns on Sachin Baby’s captaincy weren’t added on the squad by the board.

Sachin Baby return as Kerala captain

Earlier, 13 players revealed they are not happy with the captaincy style of Sachin Baby and wrote a letter to the respective board as well. However, the top body wasn’t impressed with it and thus asked the players to make a way out from the team for not following rules.

Alongside naming the skipper, the board also announced their Ranji Squad as well. A major omission is wicket-keeper-batsman Mohammed Azharuddin, who was one of the members in signing the letter against Sachin Baby.

A fast bowler, KM Asif and the spinner Sijomen Joseph are the other players to miss their name from the squad. Meanwhile, Vishnu Vinod, who performed brilliantly in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018 has been called-up.

Their premium players Jalaj Saxena and Arun Karthik are the outstation players serving for the team in the 15-member squad. Meanwhile, they once again signed Dav Whatmore as the head coach of the side with Sebastian Antony and Mazhar Moidu assisting him in the Ranji Trophy.

Squad:

Sachin Baby (captain), Sanju V. Samson, Rohan Prem, V.A. Jagadeesh, Salman Nizar, Arun Karthik, Jalaj Saxena, Vishnu Vinod, K.C. Akshay, Akshay Chandran, Sandeep Warrier, Basil Thampi, M.D. Nideesh, P. Rahul and Vinoop S. Manoharan

Fixtures:

Hyderabad – Thiruvananthapuram – November 1 to 4;

Andhra – Thiruvananthapuram – November 12 to 15;

Bengal – Kolkata – November 20 to 23;

Madhya Pradesh – Thiruvananthapuram – November 28 to December 1;

Tamil Nadu – Away – December 6 to 9;

Delhi – Thiruvananthapuram – December 14 to 17;

Punjab – Away – December 30 to January 2, 2019;

Himachal Pradesh – Away – January 7 to 10.