On Tuesday, Kerala announced their squad for the domestic 50-over competition which begins on Saturday (December 21). The list of 19 players had one name conspicuous by its absence – Sanju Samson, who had been named among a 30-strong list of probables for the competition.

Samson had led Kerala in the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India's premier domestic T20 competition, and had also captained the side in last year's Vijay Hazare Trophy.

According to the Indian Express, Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) secretary Vinod S Kumar clarified that Samson had been left out after missing the team's training camp, which saw them play two practice games at the Krishnagiri Stadium in Wayanad: "Sanju had sent an email stating that he would not be available for the camp. The team had a short camp in Wayanad without him.

"Naturally, we only considered those who were part of the sessions for selection. There has been no further discussion with him on the matter."

Salman Nizar has been named as captain of the squad. The middle-order batter is in fine form, having scored 169 runs in six Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches, at an average of over 56 and strike rate of 164.

Samson has taken a few significant steps towards cementing a place in the Indian T20I setup with his stellar performances against Bangladesh and South Africa in the last two bilateral series. He is expected to retain his place at the top of the order for the five-match home series against England in January.

Samson has scored nearly 4000 runs in List A cricket, including 510 runs for India in ODIs with an average over 56. His last ODI came nearly a year ago, in which he notched up his maiden century in the format with 108 off 114 balls against South Africa in Paarl.

Kerala squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024/25

Salman Nizar (c), Rohan Kunnummal, Shoun Roger, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wk), Anand Krishnan, Krishna Prasad, Ahammed Imran, Jalaj Saxena, Aditya Sarvate, Sijomon Joseph, Basil Thampi, Basil NP, Nidheesh MD, Eden Apple Tom, Sharafuddeen NM, Akhil Scaria, Vishweshwar Suresh, Vaishak Chandran, Ajnas M (wk).

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