Sanju Samson set to lead Kerala in SMAT: Details here
What's the story
Star batter Sanju Samson has been appointed the Kerala skipper for the 2026/27 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), India's premier T20 domestic tournament. The team will kick off its campaign against Madhya Pradesh at PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh on November 14. Vishnu Vinod, who captains the red-ball team, and spin-bowling all-rounder Jalaj Saxena are also part of this 18-member squad.
Past performance
Samson's recent T20I form
Samson will enter the tournament after having featured in the five-match T20I series in New Zealand, where he scored 67, 14, 18, 4, and 4.
The wicketkeeper-batter had led Kerala in last season's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but the team finished fourth in Group A and missed out on knockout qualification.
He had a decent season with the bat, scoring 233 runs from six innings at a strike rate of 137.86, according to Cricinfo.
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India's mainstay T20I opener
Samson has been India's mainstay opener in T20Is, having formed a successful pair with Abhishek Sharma. Earlier this year, he helped India win the ICC T20 World Cup with successive half-centuries. He currently has 9,000-plus T20 runs at a strike rate of 140.70.
Team composition
Rising stars included in the squad
The Kerala squad also includes rising stars from the Kerala Cricket League, such as top-order batter Ahammed Imran and batting all-rounder Govind Dev.
Squad: Sanju Samson (captain and wicket-keeper), Rohan Kunnummal, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wicket-keeper), Ahammed Imran, Govind Dev, Krishna Devan, Vishnu Vinod (wicket-keeper), Salman Nizar, Akhil Scaria, Nikhil M, Vignesh Puthur, Biju Narayanan, Karthik B Nair, Vaisakh Chandran, KM Asif, Nidheesh MD, Sharafuddeen NM, and Jalaj Saxena.
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Kerala's SMAT schedule
Kerala are placed in the 2026/27 SMAT Group C with Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry, and Tripura. Their first match is against MP on November 14 in New Chandigarh.