Punjab Kings' Vishnu Vinod will make waves in IPL 2025: S Sreesanth
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Former India cricketer S Sreesanth cannot wait to see his fellow Kerala players make an impact in IPL 2025. Sanju Samson headlines the Kerala contingent in the mega event set to begin on March 22.
While Sreesanth is confident Sanju will continue his consistent performances as captain of Rajasthan Royals, the former pacer has high expectations from the other Malayalis, especially Vishnu Vinod and Sachin Baby.
"Vishnu Vinod will make waves this year," said Sreesanth, who is a member of the expert panel for JioStar this IPL season. Punjab Kings secured the services of the explosive wicketkeeper batter for Rs 95 lakh from the IPL mega auction. "He is one player who has been waiting in the wings. Even in Kerala, he's got more hundreds than most of the first-class players.
"He is an attacking player. It was just a matter of that team giving him that belief system. He didn't get much opportunities when he was playing for Mumbai. But I'm very confident now he is in the right team and he will get the right opportunities," Sreesanth said.
'Sanju knows what he'd doing'
"Sanju is an established player; he knows what he is doing. He is leading his squad, so he will do justice. We know in IPL, Sanju always comes back with a great performance," Sreesanth said about the RR skipper.
Sreesanth, a two-time World Cup winner, has also closely monitored the pre-IPL performances of other Malayalis, and another player who caught his attention was Kerala captain Sachin Baby.
The left-hander, who will play for Sunrisers Hyderabad, had been in fine form in intra-squad matches. "He was playing unbelievable," Sreesanth said of Sachin, who led Kerala to a historic Ranji Trophy final, finishing runners-up to Vidarbha.
"I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing Vishnu Vinod and Sachin Baby doing that crazy impact this IPL season," Sreesanth said.
He is also expecting Mumbai Indians' young left-arm spinner Vignesh Puthur to make the most of his opportunities. Sreesanth is also eager to see how Delhi Capitals' Malayali batter Karun Nair performs this season in the IPL.
Karun had a spectacular domestic campaign that culminated with the Ranji Trophy title. He scored a century in the final against Kerala and nine first-class centuries this season. "Karun, being a Mallu, I have known him for a long time when he was in Karnataka... Now, the way he's come back. That is the way every youngster should be. That is an inspirational story," Sreesanth said.