Certain intrinsic difficulties hindered the growth of Cricket in Kerala. For instance; there was a dearth of permanent turf pitches in the State. Similar challenges in developing sports infrastructure can also be seen when looking at major matchups such as Kerala Cricket Team Standings.
University Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram and Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi have hosted several National and International matches. KCA aims to build exclusive First Class Cricket Grounds in all districts under the programme CASH-Kerala.
| No. | Date | Opponent | Tournament | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 2026 | Oman | Oman Triangular 2026 | Kerala won by 8 wickets |
| 2 | Sep 2026 | Mumbai | Oman Triangular 2026 | Kerala won by 1 wicket |
| 3 | Jan 29, 2026 | Goa | Ranji Trophy 2025/26 | Kerala won by 9 wickets |
| 4 | Jan 22, 2026 | Chandigarh | Ranji Trophy 2025/26 | Chandigarh won by an innings & 92 runs |
| 5 | Jan 8, 2026 | Tamil Nadu | Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26 | Tamil Nadu won by 77 runs |
| 6 | Jan 6, 2026 | Puducherry | Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26 | Kerala won by 8 wickets |
| 7 | Jan 3, 2026 | Jharkhand | Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26 | Kerala won by 8 wickets |
| 8 | Dec 31, 2025 | Rajasthan | Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26 | Kerala won by 2 wickets |
| 9 | Dec 29, 2025 | Madhya Pradesh | Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26 | Madhya Pradesh won by 47 runs |
| 10 | Dec 26, 2025 | Karnataka | Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26 | Karnataka won by 8 wickets |
Tinu Yohannan
Yohannan was the first cricketer from Kerala to play at the international level and he played 3 Tests and 3 ODIs for India. He made his Ranji Trophy debut in the 1999/00 season and was fast-tracked to the national side just one year later. He took a wicket on his ODI debut against the West Indies in Bridgetown but was expensive for India.
He also played for the Indian Under-19 team and was part of their successful campaign at the 2002 ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. He has a first-class career of 59 matches and has taken 145 wickets.
After retiring from playing cricket, Yohannan returned to the field as the bowling coach for the Kerala state team from 2014-2018. He is also in charge of the academy structure and coaching system for Kerala.
His son, TC Yohannan, is a former long jumper and held the Indian long jumping record for 30 years. He is currently the assistant coach for the Kerala Ranji Trophy team. He is also a television commentator and works for ESPN Cricinfo.
S Sreesanth
The Kerala cricket team has a famous fast bowler in S Sreesanth. The mercurial paceman is known for his off-field antics as much as his skills on the field. He is a former India international and is best remembered for his delivery to dismiss Jacques Kallis at Durban.
Sreesanth first gained fame for his hat-trick in a Ranji Trophy match and he soon earned a spot in the Indian team after impressing in the Challenger Trophy against Sri Lanka in 2005. He was a regular in the ODI side for a few years and he also played in the 2007 World Cup.
He is the owner and mentor of Aries Kollam Sailors in the Kerala Cricket League and has a strong bond with Samson. The two have been associated with each other since the inception of the KCL. However, a viral video showing Sreesanth completely ignoring Samson while receiving an award in the KCL 2026 awards ceremony has sparked speculation of a rift between the pair.
Despite the controversies surrounding his off-field behaviour, Sreesanth has shown great promise on the pitch. He has a magnificent upright seam position and his deliveries are full of bounce. However, his long list of antics – shoulder barging Michael Vaughan and the infamous ‘slapgate’ – has marred his image.
Sreesanth made his comeback in 2009 after being given a chance to play for Warwickshire under Allan Donald. He quickly regained his form and is a formidable force on the domestic circuit. He has also won a lot of admirers for his off-field antics but he is still yet to make the breakthrough in the Test arena. Hopefully, his behaviour will improve as he looks to become an established name in international cricket.
KN Ananthapadmanabhan
The late KN Ananthapadmanabhan took close to 350 wickets in 105 first class matches for Kerala. His biggest ambition was to represent India on the international scene, however, with the abundance of spin bowling resources in the Indian team during his heyday, he never made it.
Nevertheless, he still was an outstanding performer in the domestic arena and he left his mark with some of the most memorable performances for Kerala.
He had a rich vein of form in the 1990s and his ability to take wickets against star studded teams from the South Zone was a key highlight. He played his last Ranji Trophy game in December 2004 and he ended with a five wicket haul at his favourite town of Palakkad, a fitting way to sign off from the big stage.
In his debut season of 89-90, he was in the top 10 wicket takers for the whole year and it was the start of an impressive career. In the subsequent years he was an important member of the Kerala side that won two Irani Trophy titles and two Wills Trophies. He also did well for the Kerala A team in the tour of England in 1998 but it was not enough to secure an international call up.
After a year with SBI, he joined Chemplast but it was an extremely frustrating two years for him as he was grossly under bowled. It was a classic case of how poorly players from the State leagues are treated in the higher levels of cricket and Ananthan did not play any more first division league cricket.
The former legspinner has now taken up umpiring as a second vocation. He has been promoted to the ICC’s international panel of umpires filling the vacancy created by Nitin Menon who was moved to the elite panel.
He joins fellow Indian umpires C Shamshuddin, Anil Chaudhary and Virender Sharma in the panel and will be eligible to officiate in all the major domestic tournaments in India. He is also slated to officiate in an England Lions match as well as the Women’s List A and T20 games.
Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson, a technically sound wicketkeeper-batsman, is one of the most exciting talents to emerge from Kerala. He made his first-class debut in 2012 at the age of 17, and his strong domestic performances saw him earn selection for the Under-19 Asia Cup the following year.
He impressed with both his batting and keeping skills, but it was his aggressive strokeplay that drew the most praise. He was quick to score big-hitting boundaries, and his ability to play both spin and pace made him a threat for any bowling unit.
Despite his impressive domestic record, Samson struggled to hold onto his place in the national side. A series of bleak performances meant that he was dropped from the side in 2019, and it would be another four years before he returned to the India squad.
However, it was not long before Samson started to show that he had what it takes to be a consistent performer for both the national team and the Indian Premier League. He scored some huge runs in the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cups, where he earned Player of the Tournament accolades for his efforts.
In the domestic arena, Samson continued to build on his successes. He led Kerala to their maiden Ranji Trophy quarterfinal appearance in 2021, and also helped the team win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the same year. He is now a regular member of the Indian T20I and ODI squads, but he is not yet a guaranteed starter in the batting lineup.
The 24-year-old has a bright future ahead of him, and he will hope to use his experience at the highest level to continue to develop as a top-order batsman and a wicketkeeper-batsman. He has been in good form for Kerala this season, and he will be hoping to build on his success in the coming months.
His hard work and dedication has paid off, and he will be looking to make the most of this opportunity. For fans following major sporting events such as Kerala Cricket Team Standings, his continued development also highlights the wider appeal of following talented athletes across different sports.
Also Read : Kerala Cricket Team vs Karnataka Cricket Team Standings
