2011 World Cup-winning player Sreesanth is all set to make his return to first-class cricket in Ranji Trophy 2022. The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) have named him in their squad for the upcoming domestic event. Former Royal Challengers Bangalore player Sachin Baby will captain the team, while Sanju Samson and Mohammad Azharuddeen have not made the cut to the squad.
Samson is currently undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He is likely to join the Kerala squad once he attains full fitness. Anand Krishnan, Fanoos F, Varun Nayanar and Eden Apple Tom are the four new faces in the Kerala squad. Here is the full squad:
Kerala squad: Sachin Baby (Captain), Vishnu Vinod (Vice-captain and Wicket-Keeper), Anand Krishnan, Rohan Kunnumel, Vatsal Govind, Rahul P, Salman Nizar, Jalaj Saxena, Sijomon Joseph, Akshay KC, Mithun S, Basil NP, Nideesh MD, Manu Krishnan, Basil Thampi, Fanoos F, Sreesanth S, Varun Nayanar, Vinoop Manoharan, Eden Apple Tom.
Sreesanth played his last red-ball match back in 2013
While Sreesanth has played white-ball cricket for Kerala after his return to competitive cricket, he is yet to play a red-ball match since 2013.
His last red-ball appearance for a team came back in the year 2013, where he played for Rest of India in the Irani Cup match against Mumbai. That match happened in Mumbai, where a century from Suresh Raina helped Rest of India win on the basis of the first innings lead.
Batting first, Rest of India scored 526 runs, riding on tons from Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina. In reply, Mumbai scored 409 runs, thanks to an unbeaten century from Sachin Tendulkar. Sreesanth took the big wicket of Wasim Jaffer in that game. In the second innings, Rest of India scored 389/5, with Ambati Rayudu playing a solid knock of 156 runs. Sreesanth batted at number three and scored 18 runs in his previous first-class innings.
