Kerala launch Ranji Trophy campaign under new skipper Vishnu Vinod at Keenan Stadium

New era for Kerala as Ranji returns to Jamshedpur

Two decades after MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag lit up the ground in an ODI, Jamshedpur's Keenan Stadium returns to the national spotlight this Sunday as Kerala open their Ranji Trophy campaign against Jharkhand.

International cricket never returned to Jamshedpur after that day when Dhoni, opening the innings alongside Sehwag, tore into England's attack and blazed his way to 96. Ranchi, Dhoni's hometown, took the spotlight and the steel-town bastion of Jharkhand cricket went quiet. Now, as Ranchi was busy staging the India-West Indies T20I two days ago, Jamshedpur has bagged the rights to host Kerala's season opener.

Kerala begin the season under a new captain, Vishnu Vinod, and a new coach, former Goa batter Swapnil Asnodkar. "New season, new start," said Kerala mentor Prashant Padmanabhan. "A solid coach, and a captain who showed his leadership chops in the final Ranji game against Goa last season. The pitch looks dry and may assist turn on Days 3 and 4, which is where Kerala's experience comes in. We are banking on our two veterans, Jalaj Saxena and Aditya Sarwate."

Vinod was confirmed as skipper ahead of the campaign. As reported on October 9, the 32-year-old wicketkeeper-batter from Pathanamthitta said he wants to shape Kerala's identity without placing pressure on players to protect their places, giving them the freedom to express themselves as the side targets another Ranji Trophy final.

Sarwate's presence alongside Saxena is itself a reunion. The left-arm spinner returned to Kerala for this season after playing for Chhattisgarh last year following a fallout with former coach Amay Khurasiya, a move first reported on September 10 that reunites him with off-spinner Saxena to bolster the state's spin attack.

KCA wants youngsters to step up

KCA secretary Vinod S Kumar, though, wants the youngsters to share the load. He points to offspinner Vaisakh Chandran, who bowled exceptionally in the pre-season warm-up game in Hyderabad, taking 11 wickets. Interestingly, Vaisakh made a sensational Ranji debut against Jharkhand in 2022-23, taking five wickets in the second innings at Ranchi to help Kerala win.

What followed was far from ideal. The Thiruvananthapuram native was weighed down by family worries after his father fell ill. A few IPL franchises had noticed him, and he went for trials two seasons ago. Then came a shoulder injury, his form tapered off, and he missed the last season.

"He seems to have found his mojo. On red-soil wickets, he will be a handful," said Biju George, who coached him for nearly eight years. The 30-year-old has spent the past seven months in a lengthy rehab and used the time to fine-tune his action under Biju. "There were some issues in my bowling that Biju sir noticed. In the run-up to this season, he tweaked my bowling action, which has helped me," he said. "This season gives me the perfect opportunity to showcase my form and skill."

The spotlight will fall on Jalaj and Sarwate, as it usually does. But if the Keenan surface starts gripping, Vaisakh, back against the team that kickstarted his first-class career, could become Kerala's X-factor.