| Personnel | |
|---|---|
| Captain | Sanju Samson |
| Coach | Tinu Yohannan |
| Owner | Kerala Cricket Association |
| Team information | |
| Founded | 1950 |
| Home ground | Various venues[1] |
| History | |
| Ranji Trophy wins | 0 |
| Vijay Hazare Trophy wins | 0 |
| Official website | KCA |
The Kerala cricket team is a domestic cricket team based in the Indian state of Kerala. It is in the Elite Group of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first class cricket tournament in India. Kerala has produced two Indian Test cricketers, Tinu Yohannan and S. Sreesanth. Sanju Samson has played seven T20Is for India while Basil Thampi also has a national call-up to his name. The team also lined up ex-Indian International player Sadagoppan Ramesh for two years from 2005 to 2007. Robin Uthappa, a former Indian International player currently plays for Kerala. Kerala has also produced Krishna Chandran, who plays at International level for United Arab Emirates.
Playing history
Kerala began competing in the 1957-58 season, succeeding the Travancore-Cochin cricket team after the states were reorganized. It competed in the South Zone, against Madras/Tamil Nadu, Mysore/Karnataka, Andhra and Hyderabad. In 1957-58 Kerala lost all four matches, three of them by an innings.[2]
At the end of the 2016-17 season, Kerala had played 302 first-class matches, and won 46, lost 140 and drawn 116.[3] In List A cricket Kerala had played 120 matches, with 47 wins, 71 losses and two ties.[4]
In the 1994-95 and 1996–97 Ranji Trophy, Kerala qualified from South Zone. They finished second in the Plate group in 2002-03 and played in the Elite group in 2003-04.
In November 2017, they progressed to the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy for the first time, when they finished second in Group B of the 2017–18 tournament.[5][6]
They put on their best show in their Ranji Trophy history when they progressed to the semifinals in 2018-19 after beating former champions Gujarat convincingly in quarters. [7]
Current squad
Players with International caps are listed in bold.
| Name | Birth date | Batting Style | Bowling Style | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | |||||
| Sachin Baby | 18 December 1988 | Left-handed | Right-arm off-break | ||
| Vishnu Vinod | 15 February 1993 | Right-handed | Played for India A in 2019-20 Deodhar Trophy | ||
| Robin Uthappa | 11 November 1985 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | List A captain Plays for Rajasthan Royals in IPL | |
| Salman Nizar | 30 June 1997 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | ||
| Ponnam Rahul | 4 February 1992 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | ||
| Rohan Prem | 13 September 1986 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | ||
| All-rounders | |||||
| Akshay Chandran | 19 October 1993 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | ||
| Vinoop Manoharan | 10 June 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | ||
| Wicket-keepers | |||||
| Mohammed Azharuddeen | 22 March 1994 | Right-handed | |||
| Sanju Samson | 11 November 1994 | Right-handed | Twenty 20 captain Plays for Rajasthan Royals in IPL | ||
| Spin bowlers | |||||
| Jalaj Saxena | 15 December 1986 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | First-class captain Played for India Blue in 2019-20 Duleep Trophy Played for India C in 2019-20 Deodhar Trophy | |
| Sijomon Joseph | 28 September 1997 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | ||
| Sudhesan Midhun | 7 October 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | ||
| Pace bowlers | |||||
| Basil Thampi | 11 September 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL Played for India Blue in 2019-20 Duleep Trophy | |
| KM Asif | 24 July 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Plays for Chennai Super Kings in IPL | |
| MD Nidheesh | 5 May 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ||
| S Sreesanth | 6 February 1983 | Right Handed | Right arm fast-medium | ||
Head Coach- Tinu Yohannan
Assistant Coach- Antony Sebastian
Team Physician(Sports Medicine Consultant) - Dr Shibu Varghese
Stadiums
Grounds listed in bold have hosted at least one international cricket match.
Kozhikode
- Calicut Cricket Stadium
- Calicut Corporation Stadium
- Mananchira maidan
- Regional Engineering College Ground
- Calicut Medical College Stadium
Kannur
- Military Maidan
- Police Parade Ground
- Thalassery Stadium
- Thalassery Venus Corner Vayal Cricket Stadium
Ernakulam
- Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
- Maharaja College Stadium
- Kerala Cricket Association Stadium
Kollam
- Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium
- Sree Narayana College Ground
Alappuzha
- SD college ground
Kottayam
- Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kottayam
Malappuram
- Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium
- Malabar State Police Ground
Pathanamathitta
- Pathanamathitta Municipal Stadium
- Thiruvalla Municipal Stadium
Wayanad
- Krishnagiri Cricket Stadium
Thiruvananthapuram
- Lakshmibhai National College of Physical Education Ground
- Trivandrum Medical College Ground
- Trivandrum University College Ground
- Vellyani Agricultural College Ground
- St. Xavier's College Ground Thumba Trivandrum
- The Sports Hub Trivandrum (Trivandrum International Stadium)
- Central Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
- Mangalapuram Cricket Ground
Thrissur
- Thrissur Medical College Stadium
- Thrissur Cricket Ground
Kasaragod
- KCA Cricket Stadium, Kasaragod
- Municipal Stadium Kasaragod
Famous players
Players from Kerala who have played Test cricket for India, along with year of Test debut:
- Tinu Yohannan (2001)
- Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (2006)
Players from Kerala who have played T20I but not ODI or Test cricket for India, along with year of T20I debut:
- Sanju Samson (2015)
Prominent cricketers at the domestic level:
- Ajay Varma
- Ajay Kudua
- Antony Sebastian
- B. Ramprakash
- Balan Pandit
- Basil Thampi
- Feroze V Rasheed
- Kelappan Thampuran
- K. N. Ananthapadmanabhan
- K Jayaraman
- Padmanabhan Prasanth
- Prasanth Parameswaran
- Krishna Chandran (Represented UAE)
- Raiphi Gomez
- Rohan Prem
- Sachin Baby
- Sandeep Warrier
- Sony Cheruvathur
- Sreekumar Nair
- Sunil Oasis
- Thomas Mathew
- VA Jagadeesh
Cricketers from other state teams who also played for Kerala, and played international cricket for India:
- Robin Uthappa
- Sadagoppan Ramesh
- Sujith Somasunder
- Iqbal Abdulla
- Arun Karthik
- Jalaj Saxena
References
- ^ "Kerala Cricket Association : Venues". keralacricketassociation.
- ^ Wisden 1959, pp. 856-57.
- ^ "Kerala's first-class playing record". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Kerala's List A playing record". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Kerala cricket team creates history! Enters Ranji Trophy quarterfinals in style". Financial Express. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ "Kerala Ranji Trophy team qualifies for the quarterfinals". The New Indian Express. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ "Ranji Trophy 2018-19, Kerala vs Gujarat". BCCI. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
External links
- Kerala at CricketArchive
- "Warriors from Kerala" by Ramachandra Guha in The Hindu