Sreesanth not included in Kerala Ranji squad

Sreesanth has not been included in Kerala's squad for the two opening games of the Ranji Trophy Plate League. The fast bowler, however, is likely to be considered for the rest of the matches in the season subject to the result of his fitness test to be held at the National Cricket Academy on November 4.

The 15-member squad announced in Kochi on Saturday will be led by Sony Cheruvathur and features three new faces, opener Sambasiva Sarma, allrounder KJ Rakesh and fast bowler Prasanth Parameshwaran. The team will be unchanged for the first two Plate League group matches, said Kerala Cricket Association secretary TC Mathew.

Kerala kick off their campaign against Goa and will also take on Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in Group A while Assam, Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Services, Tripura and Vidarbha make up Group B. A finish as one of the top two in the group will earn them a semifinal place and making the final would mean an automatic promotion to the Super League.

Kerala: Sony Cheruvathur (capt), VA Jagadeesh (vice-capt), Prasanth Parameshwaran, Sebastian Antony, Sambasiva Sarma, Rohan Prem, Robert Fernandes, Sreekumar Nair, Raiphy Vincent Gomez, Vinan G Nair (wk), Tinu Yohanan, Prasanth Chandran, S Aneesh, P Prasanth, KJ Rakesh. Coach: Vedam Hariharan.