Kerala cricket team
Personnel
CaptainSanju Samson
CoachM. Venkataramana
OwnerKerala Cricket Association
Team information
Colors  Dark Blue
Founded1957
Home groundGreenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Capacity55,000
History
First-class debutMadras
in 1957
at Race Course Ground, Madurai
Ranji Trophy wins0
Vijay Hazare Trophy wins0
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy wins0
Official websiteKCA

Test kit

T20I and ODI kit

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. It was known as Travancore-Cochin cricket team until 1957/58.[1]

Kerala has produced two Indian Test cricketers, Tinu Yohannan and S. Sreesanth.[2] Sanju Samson has represented India in T20Is and ODIs,[3] while Basil Thampi has a national call-up to his name.[4] The team also lined up ex-Indian International player Sadagoppan Ramesh for two years from 2005 to 2007.[5] Robin Uthappa, a former Indian International player currently plays for Kerala.[6] Kerala has also produced Krishna Chandran, who plays at International level for United Arab Emirates.[7]

Playing history

Kerala began competing in the 1957–58 Ranji Trophy, succeeding the Travancore-Cochin cricket team after the states were reorganized.[1] 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.[8]

In the 1959–60 season, Kerala's Balan Pandit (262*) and George Abraham (198) put up a 410 runs partnership in the fourth wicket, which is the highest in Indian first-class cricket.[9] Pandit's score remained the highest for Kerala in FC format until the 2007–08 season.[10][11]

Kerala's best season in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was in 2012–13 season where they finished 3rd, missing out from finals after losing the last league stage match to eventual champions Gujarat.

At the end of the 2016–17 season, Kerala had played 302 first-class matches, and won 46, lost 140 and drawn 116.[12] In List A cricket Kerala had played 120 matches, with 47 wins, 71 losses and two ties.[13]

Kerala reached the pre-quarterfinal of Ranji Trophy in the 1994–95 season when they progressed as South zone winners under the captaincy of KN Ananthapadmanabhan.[14] They were qualified for the Super League after emerging as the south zone winners in 1996-97 under leadership of Feroze V Rasheed. Kerala reached plate final in 2002-03 and semifinal in 2007–08.[15]

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.[16][17]

They put on their best show in Ranji Trophy history when they progressed to the semifinals in 2018–19 season after beating former champions Gujarat in quarters.[18][19]

Governing body

Main article: Kerala Cricket Association

The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) is the governing body for the Kerala cricket team. It was founded on 1951 and is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Kerala State Sports Authority (KSSA). It is the parent body of the 14 district associations in Kerala.[20]

Current squad

Players with International caps are listed in bold.

Name Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batsmen
Rohan Kunnummal (1998-05-10) 10 May 1998 (age 25) Right-handed Right-arm medium
Sachin Baby (1988-12-18) 18 December 1988 (age 35) Left-handed Right-arm off-break
Rohan Prem (1986-09-13) 13 September 1986 (age 37) Left-handed Right-arm off break
Abdul Basith (1998-10-09) 9 October 1998 (age 25) Right-handed Right-arm off break
Salman Nizar (1997-06-30) 30 June 1997 (age 26) Left-handed Right-arm off break
Krishna Prasad (1999-07-01) 1 July 1999 (age 24) Right-handed Right-arm off break
Varun Nayanar (2002-10-24) 24 October 2002 (age 21) Right-handed
All-rounders
Akshay Chandran (1993-10-19) 19 October 1993 (age 30) Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox
Shreyas Gopal (1993-09-04) 4 September 1993 (age 30) Right-handed Right-arm leg break
Wicket-keepers
Sanju Samson (1994-11-11) 11 November 1994 (age 29) Right-handed Captain
Plays for Rajasthan Royals in IPL
Vishnu Vinod (1993-02-15) 15 February 1993 (age 30) Right-handed Plays for Mumbai Indians in IPL
Mohammed Azharuddeen (1994-03-22) 22 March 1994 (age 29) Right-handed
Spin-bowlers
Sijomon Joseph (1997-09-28) 28 September 1997 (age 26) Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Vice-captain
Vaisakh Chandran (1996-05-31) 31 May 1996 (age 27) Right-handed Right-arm off break
Jalaj Saxena (1986-12-15) 15 December 1986 (age 37) Right-handed Right-arm off break
Pace bowlers
Basil Thampi (1993-09-11) 11 September 1993 (age 30) Right-handed Right-arm medium
Akhil Scaria (1998-10-05) 5 October 1998 (age 25) Left-handed Right-arm medium
Akhin Sathar (2002-12-01) 1 December 2002 (age 21) Right-handed Right-arm medium
MD Nidheesh (1991-05-05) 5 May 1991 (age 32) Right-handed Right-arm medium
Nedumankuzhy Basil (1996-10-20) 20 October 1996 (age 27) Right-handed Right-arm medium
Vinod Kumar (1987-07-31) 31 July 1987 (age 36) Right-handed Right-arm medium
KM Asif (1993-07-24) 24 July 1993 (age 30) Right-handed Right-arm medium
Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan (1988-10-04) 4 October 1988 (age 35) Left-handed Left-arm medium

Updated as on 12 January 2024

Support Staff

Position Name
Team Manager Nazir Machan
Head coach M. Venkataramana
Assistant coach M Raja Gopal
Strength and conditioning Coach Vysakh Krishna
Physiotherapist Unnikrishnan RS
Video Analyst Saji S

Stadiums

International stadiums

Greenfield International Stadium on an international match-day in 2017

Active Stadium

Sl. No Name City Capacity No. of matches First match Last match Ref.
Test ODIs T20Is
1 Greenfield International Stadium Thiruvananthapuram 55,000 0 1 2 7 November 2017 8 December 2019 [21]

Former Stadiums

Sl. No Name City Capacity No. of matches First match Last match Ref.
Test ODIs T20Is
1 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Kochi 80,000 0 9 0 1 April 1998 8 October 2014 [22]
2 University Stadium Thiruvananthapuram 20,000 0 2 0 1 October 1984 25 January 1988 [23]

Other stadiums

Sl. No Name City Capacity Ref.
1 Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ground Ernakulam 5000 [24]
2 Conor Vayal Stadium Kannur — [25]
3 Military Maidan Kannur — [26]
4 Police Ground Kannur 2000 [27]
5 Cochin Refineries Ltd Ground Kochi 3000 [28]
6 Fort Cochin Parade Maidan Kochi 3000 [29]
7 Maharaja College Stadium Kochi 15,000 [30]
8 Premier Tyres Oval Kochi 10,000 [31]
9 St Paul's College Ground Kochi — [32]
10 Nehru Stadium Kottayam 18,000 [33]
11 Cochin Corporation Stadium Kozhikode 15,000 [34]
12 Manachira Maidan Kozhikode 1000 [35]
13 Calicut Medical College Stadium Kozhikode 10,000 [36]
14 Medical College Ground Kozhikode 5000 [37]
15 Regional Engineering College Ground Kozhikode 3000 [38]
16 Malabar State Police Ground Malappuram 1000 [39]
17 Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium Malappuram — [40]
18 Fort Maidan Palakkad 10,000 [41]
19 The Government Victoria College Ground Palakkad 2000 [42]
20 Municipal Stadium Thalassery 7500 [43]
21 KCA Cricket Ground Thiruvananthapuram — [44]
22 Lakshmibhai National College of Physical Education Ground Thiruvananthapuram 10,000 [45]
23 Medical College Ground Thiruvananthapuram 2000 [46]
24 St. Xavier's College Ground, Thumba Thiruvananthapuram — [47]
25 Vellyani Agricultural College Ground Thiruvananthapuram 10,000 [48]
26 University Stadium Thiruvananthapuram 10,000 [49]
27 Municipal Stadium Thrissur 1500 [50]
28 Krishnagiri Stadium Wayanad — [51]
29 Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium Kollam 30,000 [52]
30 Sree Narayana College Ground Kollam 3000 [53]
31 Sanatana Dharma College Ground Alappuzha — [54]
32 Thiruvalla Municipal Stadium Pathanamthitta — [55]
33 Central Stadium Thiruvananthapuram —

Famous players

S. Sreesanth has played both for Kerala in state level and for India in international matches.

Main article: List of Kerala cricketers

Players from Kerala who have played Test cricket for India, along with year of Test debut:

Players from Kerala who have played ODI but not Test cricket for India, along with year of ODI debut:

Cricketers who played a large portion of their career for Kerala, and played T20I for India, along with year of T20I debut :

Cricketers from other state teams who also played for Kerala, and played international cricket for India, along with year of international debut:

Prominent cricketers at the domestic level:

References

  1. ^ a b Bose 1990, pp. 388.
  2. ^ Praveen, M. P. (23 April 2013). "The man who set the pace for budding cricketers in Kochi". The Hindu. Kochi. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  3. ^ Sadhu, Rahul (30 July 2021). "India tour of Sri Lanka: Sanju Samson flatters to deceive, T20 World Cup chances hang by a thread". Indian Express. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Washington Sundar, Thampi, Hooda in India's T20 squad". ESPNcricinfo. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Ramesh impresses with ton". ESPNcricinfo. 26 December 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Ranji Trophy: Robin Uthappa set to play for Kerala". Sport Star. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Karate Krishna Chandran: The First Keralite in UAE team". Kerala Cricket Association. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  8. ^ Wisden 1959, pp. 856-57.
  9. ^ Ramaswami 1976, pp. 71.
  10. ^ Wisden 2014, pp. 74.
  11. ^ "Most Runs in an Innings for Kerala". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Kerala's first-class playing record". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Kerala's List A playing record". CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  14. ^ "In a first, Kerala cricket team makes it to quarter-finals of Ranji Trophy". The News Minute. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  15. ^ Rajan, Adwaidh (29 November 2017). "Ranji Trophy: Yesteryear stars feel Kerala cricket team can go even further in the contest". The New Indian Express. Kochi. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Kerala cricket team creates history! Enters Ranji Trophy quarterfinals in style". Financial Express. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  17. ^ "Kerala Ranji Trophy team qualifies for the quarterfinals". The New Indian Express. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  18. ^ "Ranji Trophy 2018-19, Kerala vs Gujarat". BCCI. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  19. ^ "Ranji Trophy 2018-19: First time semi-finalist Kerala look to turn tables on defending champion Vidharba". First Post. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  20. ^ "Kerala Cricket Association". Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Greenfield International Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Nehru Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  23. ^ "University Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Conor Vayal Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  26. ^ "Military Maidan". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Police Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  28. ^ "Cochin Refineries Ltd Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  29. ^ "Fort Cochin Parade Maidan". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  30. ^ "Maharaja College Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  31. ^ "Primier Tyres Oval". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  32. ^ "St Paul's College Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  33. ^ "Nehru Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  34. ^ "Corporation Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  35. ^ "Manachira Maidan". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  36. ^ "Medical College Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  37. ^ "Medical College (2) Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  38. ^ "Regional Engineering College Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  39. ^ "Malabar State Police Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  40. ^ "Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  41. ^ "Fort Maidan". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  42. ^ "The Government Victoria College Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  43. ^ "Municipal Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  44. ^ "KCA Cricket Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  45. ^ "Lakshmibhai National College of Physical Education Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  46. ^ "Medical College Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  47. ^ "St. Xavier's College Ground, Thumba". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  48. ^ "Vellyani Agricultural College Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  49. ^ "University Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  50. ^ "Municipal Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  51. ^ "Krishnagiri Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  52. ^ "Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  53. ^ "Sree Narayana College Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  54. ^ "Alappuzha gets a new cricket ground". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  55. ^ "തിരുവല്ല സ്റ്റേഡിയത്തിൽ ക്രിക്കറ്റ് പൂരമൊരുക്കാൻ കെസിഎ". Manorama Online (in Malayalam). Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  56. ^ "1st Test, Mohali, Dec 3 - 6 2001, England tour of India". ESPNcricinfo. 3 December 2001. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  57. ^ "1st Test, Nagpur, Mar 1 - 5 2006, England tour of India". ESPNcricinfo. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  58. ^ "3rd ODI (D/N), Colombo (RPS), Jul 23 2021, India tour of Sri Lanka". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  59. ^ "3rd T20I (N), Colombo (RPS), Jul 29 2021, India tour of Sri Lanka". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  60. ^ "1st Match (D/N), Hyderabad (Deccan), Oct 17 1996, Titan Cup". ESPNcricinfo. 17 October 1996. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  61. ^ "1st Test, Chennai, Jan 28 - 31 1999, Pakistan tour of India". ESPNcricinfo. 28 January 1999. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  62. ^ "7th ODI, Indore, Apr 15 2006, England tour of India". ESPNcricinfo. 15 April 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2021.

Bibliography

External links

Ranji Trophy
Cricket in India
Sports teams based in Kerala
Categories