Sanju Samson will return to domestic cricket as Kerala captain, having been entrusted with the leadership role for the 2026 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The wicketkeeper-batter will lead an 18-member squad in the tournament, which begins on November 24.

It will be Samson's first appearance for Kerala since January, when he featured in a Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture against Puducherry. The India opener has since been occupied with national duties, playing an important role in India's successful T20 World Cup title defence and their gold medal-winning campaign at the Asian Games.

Samson was part of the Indian team that beat New Zealand in the T20I series 3-2 recently.

Kerala will begin their SMAT campaign against Madhya Pradesh at the PCA Stadium in Tira, near Mohali. Both teams are part of Group C, which also features Andhra, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry and Tripura.

Samson had led Kerala in the previous edition as well, but the team could only manage a fourth-place finish in Elite Group A and failed to progress to the next stage. The wicketkeeper-batter enjoyed a productive campaign individually, accumulating 233 runs from six innings at a strike rate of 137.86. He was Kerala's second-highest run-getter, behind Rohan Kunnummal.

The squad features several familiar names, including red-ball captain Vishnu Vinod and former skipper Mohammed Azharuddeen. Experienced spinner Jalaj Saxena, who made his way back into the side ahead of the Ranji Trophy campaign, has also been picked.

Kerala have also rewarded promising performers from the Kerala Cricket League, with Ahammed Imran and Govind Dev D. Pai earning places in the squad after consistent performances in the competition.

There is also IPL experience in the mix. Vignesh Puthur, who has turned out for Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, has been included alongside K. M. Asif, who was part of Chennai Super Kings' title-winning squads in 2018 and 2021.

KERALA SQUAD FOR SYED MUSHTAQ ALI TROPHY

Sanju V Samson (C) (WK), Rohan S Kunnummal, Mohammed Azharuddeen (WK), Ahammed Imran, Govind Dev D Pai, Krishna Devan R J, Vishnu Vinod (WK), Salman Nizar, Akhil Scaria, Nikhil M, Vignesh Puthur, Biju Narayanan N, Karthik B Nair, Vaisakh Chandran, Asif K M, Nidheesh M D, Sharafuddeen NM, Jalaj Saxena

- Ends