Sanju Samson named captain of Kerala ahead of IPL 2026, Mumbai Indians-released spinner to play under him

India’s star wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson is set to lead Kerala in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. The Kerala Cricket Association announced the squad for the premier domestic T20 tournament on November 22.

Samson will be seen leading his side in their campaign opener against Odisha on November 26. Since its inception in 2007, Kerala are yet to win the title.

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How many SMAT matches will Samson play?

Samson is likely to play six out of Kerala's seven group stage matches. Their last group stage match is against Assam on December 8. Samson will join the Team India camp before the five-T20I series at home against South Africa. The first T20I is scheduled to take place on December 9 at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. This means Samson will also miss the knockout stage matches and even the final if Kerala manage to reach.

Who will lead Kerala in Samson’s absence?

19-year-old Ahammed Imran has been named Samson's deputy. He will take over the captaincy when Samson leaves for national duty.

Recently released by Mumbai Indians (MI), left-arm chinaman spinner Vignesh Puthur will be seen in action as well. It will be a chance for him to prove himself before the auction.

Kerala’s squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025

Sanju V Samson (C)(WK), Rohan S Kunnummal, Mohammed Azharuddeen M (WK), Ahammed Imran (VC), Vishnu Vinod (WK), Nidheesh M.D, Asif KM, Akhil Scaria, Biju Narayanan N., Ankit Sharma, Krishna Devan R.J, Abdul Bazith P.A, Sharafuddeen N.M, Sibin P Gireesh, Krishna Prasad, Saly V Samson, Vignesh Puthur, Salman Nizar.

The big trade to CSK

Samson was recently traded moved to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) via trade from Rajasthan Royals. He was traded for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.

Samson set to achieve T20 milestone

Meanwhile, Samson will be chasing a milestone in the group stage matches. He needs 237 more runs to become the seventh Indian batter to score 8,000 runs in T20s (domestic T20s, franchise T20s, T20Is). Currently, he has 7,763 runs from 313 T20s at an average of 29.62 and strike rate of 136.72. He has six centuries and 49 fifties to his name.

India's top six run-scorers in T20s are — Virat Kohli (13,543 runs), Rohit Sharma (12,248 runs), Shikhar Dhawan (9,797 runs), Suryakumar Yadav (8,776 runs), Suresh Raina (8,654 runs) and, KL Rahul (8,125 runs).