Following the announcement of the squads for the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season from Delhi and Bengal, Kerala also announced their 15-member squad. The most significant change is that Mohammed Azharuddeen has been named the new captain, taking over from Sachin Baby in that regard. Star batter Sanju Samson returns after sitting out last season, which simply adds to Kerala’s experience and strength.

Azharuddeen had a strong Ranji Trophy season last year and also led the South Zone team in the Duleep Trophy. He will now lead a team that balances young talent with experienced players. Domestic veteran Baba Aparajith joins Kerala as a guest player and will serve as vice-captain. Rohan S Kunnummal, one of Kerala’s most reliable openers, continues to hold his spot at the top of the order.

The team also features main players M D Nidheesh, Salman Nizar, and Vathsal Govind. Guest players Ankit Sharma and Baba Aparajith add to the experience on the field. The fact that Aparajith was appointed vice-captain with senior players such as Samson and Baby on the team speaks to the team's management's trust in his leadership ability.

Sanju Samson’s Return and Kerala’s Goals

Sanju Samson, who is not part of India’s ODI squad for the upcoming series against Australia, is expected to play a few Ranji matches before joining the T20I team later in October. It is still unclear how many games he will feature in this season. His return will strengthen Kerala’s middle order and leadership on the field.

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Kerala enters the new season with high hopes after a historic run last year, reaching the Ranji Trophy final for the first time. They finished as runners-up after a drawn final against Vidarbha, who won on the first-innings lead. Kerala will kick off the 2025–26 season at home against Maharashtra on October 15 at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.

Kerala Squad: Mohammed Azharuddeen (C), Baba Aparajith (VC), Sanju Samson, Rohan S Kunnummal, Vathsal Govind Sharma, Akshay Chandran, Sachin Baby, Salman Nizar, Ankit Sharma, Nidheesh MD, Basil NP, Edhen Apple Tom, Ahammed Imran, Shoun Roger, Abhishek P Nai.

While Royal Challengers Bengaluru were playing their crucial 13th match of the IPL 2025 against SunRisers Hyderabad in Lucknow, Jitesh Sharma took the captaincy role in the absence of the regular captain Rajat Patidar. As Patidar is injured, we are checking here the top three names who can replace the RCB skipper for the remainder of the IPL 2025, including the Playoffs.

During their match against Chennai Super Kings before the IPL 2025 suspension, RCB captain Rajat Patidar suffered from a finger injury. While there is news of improving status, Patidar missed the match against SRH, although he was in the Impact subs squad. There is no confirmation story about the RCB regular captain's complete fitness. If he is unfortunately ruled out of the tournament, it will surely be a big blow for RCB. 

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IPL 2025: 3 players who can replace RCB captain Rajat Patidar

Harvik Desai: Harvik Desai was unsold in the IPL 2025 Auction. The 25-year-old uncapped wicketkeeper-batter is yet to make his IPL debut. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25, Desai scored 323 runs in eight innings with an average of 40.37 and a strike rate of 152.35, including three half-centuries. In his 35 T20s, the right-handed batter has recorded 1014 runs, including one century and seven half-centuries.  

Mohammed Azharuddeen: Uncapped Mohammed Azharuddeen is also waiting for his IPL debut, who was also unsold in the latest IPL auction. In the IPL 2021 auction, RCB bought him for INR 20 lakhs, but yet to make his IPL debut. While he has recorded one T20 century, he was the first Kerala cricketer to record a century in the Ranji Trophy Semi-finals history during the 2024-25 season. 

Narayan Jagadeesan: The highest run-scorer in List A cricket history, Narayan Jagadeesan, is now a big name in domestic cricket, especially in first-class and List A formats. He has played 13 IPL matches (for Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders), last time in the 2023 season, and scored 162 runs with the highest score of 39 not out. During the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 preliminary quarter-final, he created history by hitting six consecutive fours in an over.