Kerala captain Sachin Baby hopes Sanju Samson will be available for the state team once they reach the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy.

Kerala are on the verge of sealing a quarterfinal berth and need a win against Bihar in their final league match starting January 30 in Thiruvananthapuram. Kerala could also advance with a first innings lead if Karnataka and Haryana play out a draw in the other Group C clash.

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Sanju is unavailable for Kerala's Ranji campaign due to his commitments with Team India for the ongoing T20I series against England. But he will be available if and when Kerala reach the quarterfinals.

"If Sanju is available for us in the knockout stages, it would be a huge boost for the team," Sachin told Onmanorama on the eve of the home match against Bihar. "We know how good he is with the red ball. He scored a century in the Duleep Trophy as well," he said. Sanju scored 106 for India D, led by Shreyas Iyer, in the Duleep Trophy last September.

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Sanju has only played one Ranji match for Kerala this season, the washed-out round-two fixture against Karnataka in Alur. He entered the side fresh from a brilliant T20I century against Bangladesh.

Thereafter, he fell out with the Kerala Cricket Association over the Vijay Hazare Trophy. KCA President Jayesh George accused the star batter of skipping the preparatory camp without specifying a reason. The issue became a talking point after Sanju's omission from India's Champions Trophy squad.

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Sanju will be free of national team commitments after the ongoing T20I series against England that ends on February 2. He is not part of India's squad for the Champions Trophy to be played between February 19 and March 9. The Ranji Trophy knockouts will be played between February 8 and March 2.

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