Kerala cricket team to tour Oman; Azhar to lead as Sanju, Sachin miss out due to IPL

Kerala's men's cricket team will travel to Oman later this month to play practice matches against their national team. Wicketkeeper batter Mohammed Azharuddeen has been named captain of the 16-member squad, devoid of Sanju Samson and Sachin Baby, among other stars, competing in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Kerala will play five one-day practice matches against Oman from April 20 to 26. A pre-tournament camp will be held in Thiruvananthapuram from April 15 to 18 under head coach Amay Khurasiya. The squad will leave for Oman on April 19 from Thiruvananthapuram.

Kerala had a memorable domestic season that ended in the Ranji Trophy final against Vidarbha in Nagpur. Sachin Baby's Kerala finished runners-up on their maiden appearance in the Ranji final.

Star batter Sanju, who missed most of the Ranji campaign due to national team commitments and fitness issues, is absent from the Oman tour as he captains the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. Sachin, who led Kerala in Sanju's absence, is part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad. Two other Kerala players, Vishnu Vinod and Vignesh Puthur, are also part of the IPL, as part of Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively. Left-arm wrist spinner Vignesh, who has been impressive in his debut IPL season with six wickets from four matches, is yet to play for the Kerala senior team.

Notably, the Kerala squad comprises entirely Malayali players. Veteran guest players Jalaj Saxena and Aditya Sarwate are not part of the touring party.  

Kerala squad for Oman tour: Rohan S Kunnummal, Ahammed Imran, Salman Nizar, Mohammed Azharuddeen M, Shoun Roger, Govind Dev D Pai, Abhishek P Nair, Abdul Bazith P A, Akshay Manohar, Sharafuddeen N M, Nidheesh M D, Basil N P, Edhen Apple Tom, Sreehari S Nair, Biju Narayan N, Manav Krishna