Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson will be seen playing for Kerala in the domestic one-day tournament Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) before the upcoming T20 World Cup. The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) on Sunday announced the team for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, in which Samson has been included. The captaincy of the team has been handed over to young batsman Rohan Kunnummal.
Last year he was not in the squad
Samson was not included in the Vijay Hazare Trophy squad last year due to a dispute with the KCA. Now he has a golden opportunity to return to the ODI team by performing well in this domestic tournament. This is especially so since Rishabh Pant, who plays the role of backup wicketkeeper in ODIs, has a very poor record in the limited overs format. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson has an ODI career average of over 56, which includes one century and three half-centuries.
Kerala’s performance in domestic tournaments has been disappointing this season. The team failed to advance beyond the group stage in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and their performance in the Ranji Trophy also fell short of expectations. Now, the team will look to improve its image by performing better in the 50-over format.
In addition to Sanju, the team also includes experienced players MD Nidhish and Vishnu Vinod. Young spinner Vignesh Puthur, who caught everyone’s attention with his impressive performances for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2025, has also been selected. Kerala has been placed in Group E, where it will face strong teams like Tripura, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu.
Kerala’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad:
Rohan Kunnummal (captain), Sanju Samson, Vishnu Vinod (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Azharuddin (wicketkeeper), Ahmed Imran, Salman Nizar, Abhishek J. Nair, Krishna Prasad, Akhil Scaria, Abhijeet Praveen V, Biju Narayanan, Ankit Sharma, Baba Aparajith, Vignesh Puthur, Nidheesh MD, Asif KM, Abhishek P. Nair, Sharafuddeen NM, Eden Appleby TOM.