Picture Credit: Twitter
It is nothing less than immense joy for S Sreesanth who is all set to make a comeback to red-ball cricket after being out for almost nine years. The veteran pacer's comeback story is inspirational in so many ways for any aspiring cricketer. Despite being out of cricketing action for so long, Sreesanth never gave up and here he is all set to play red-ball cricket once again.
In a 20-member squad announced by the Kerala Cricket Association, S Sreesanth's name has also been included. Sachin Baby has been handed the leadership duties while Vishnu Vinod will play his deputy for the 2021-22 season. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and is expected to join the Kerala squad once he is fit to play. Four debutants including Varun Nayanar (from the family of EK Nayanar), Edhen Apple Tom, Anand Krishnan & Fanoos F have also found a place in the final squad.
Kerala Ranji Trophy squad: Sachin Baby (capt), Vishnu Vinod (vice-capt & wk), Anand Krishnan, Rohan Kunnumal, Vatsal Govind, Rahul P, Salman Nizar, Jalaj Saxena, Sijomon Joseph, Akshay K C, Mithun S, Basil N P, Nideesh M D, Manu Krishnan, Basil Thampi, Fanoos F, S Sreesanth, Varun Nayanar (wk), Vinoop Manoharan, Eden Apple Tom
Ranji Trophy league phase from 17 February
While it was reported earlier that the league phase of the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 will start from 10 February, it is now being said that it will start a week later i.e. from 17 February. The league phase is scheduled to be played till 6 March and the pre-quarters are expected to be played from 7-10 March.
The rest of the tournament will be played after the completion of the Indian Premier League in May and June. The expected starting and finishing dates as of now are May 30 and June 26.