Sanju Samson named Kerala captain for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, 18-member squad announced

November 11 brought India star Sanju Samson a double joy. It was his 32nd birthday, and he was also handed the captaincy of Kerala. The Kerala Cricket Association has announced an 18-member squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026, with Samson as captain. The responsibility of bringing the team success now rests on his shoulders.

The tournament begins on November 14. Kerala will open their campaign against Madhya Pradesh at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. Both teams are in Group C, which also includes Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry and Tripura.

Samson also captained Kerala last season. Under him, the team finished fourth in Group A and failed to qualify for the knockout stage. This time the team will try to better that performance, and will have high hopes of Samson's experience and captaincy.

The trophy is also important for Samson because he has not made big scores in recent T20 internationals. In the last four T20 matches against New Zealand he scored 14, 18, 4 and 4. After a run of low scores, he will now get a chance to show his batting skills on his home ground.

Samson has so far played 82 T20 internationals for India. He has scored 1,842 runs in 74 innings at a strike rate of 158.24, with three centuries and 11 half-centuries. His highest score in the format is 111.

The Kerala squad: Sanju Samson (captain), Rohan S Kunnummal, Govind Dev, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wicketkeeper), Ahmed Imran, Krishna Devan R J, Vishnu Vinod (wicketkeeper), Salman Nizar, Vignesh Puthur, Akhil Scaria, Karthik B Nair, Nikhil M, Jalaj Saxena, Biju Narayanan N, Sharafuddeen N M, Nidheesh M D, Vaisakh Chandran and Asif K M.