3 cricketers who have represented India from Kerala

International cricket is undoubtedly the highest form of cricket. Growing up, every cricketer dreams to play international cricket for his/her national team. Wearing the country’s cap is a matter of pride for any individual. In India, cricket is treated as a religion and a lot of kids dream about donning the India jersey. However, not everyone gets to live their dreams.

Kerala is not a very famous place on the world map, especially in the cricket world. However, it has produced a few cricketers who have gone on to play for India. You might be aware of one, or at the maximum two, but here are three cricketers that have donned the India colours in some format.

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#3 Sanju Samson

This name might come as a surprise. Sanju Samson is one of the household names for a couple of months every year. Every Indian summer, during the Indian Premier League (IPL), Samson has been one of the key Indian players for whichever side he has played for so far.

He has played one international game for India which came in a T20I in 2015. The right-handed wicket-keeper batsman played the second T20I against Zimbabwe during India’s tour in 2015. He made a sluggish 24-ball 19 and has never got an opportunity again.

The Trivandrum-born wicket-keeper has been an IPL regular though. He made his IPL debut back in 2013 and has played 81 IPL games so far. However, despite being a regular in the IPL and given the talent he possesses, it is a little surprising that he has played just one international game.

He has been playing continuous cricket and has been around the fringes of the Indian team in recent times. He recently played for India ‘A’ in the A Team Quadrangular Series which involved Australia ‘A’, South Africa ‘A’ and India ‘B’.

He didn’t have great results as he scored 94 runs in 4 innings. Hence, he will be looking to make the most of the upcoming Ranji season and try to break the door of the Indian cricket team.

#2 Tinu Yohannan

Son of former Indian athlete T.C. Yohannan who represented the nation in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Canada, Tinu Yohannan was the first Kerala-born player to have ever represented India in international cricket. Born in Kollam (previously called as Quilon), Tinu Yohannan played under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly in the early part of this century.

The right-arm medium pacer was a part of the MRF Pace Foundation in the late 1990s. He made his international debut against England in a Test match at Mohali. He prised out the England openers as he picked up 2/75 on debut. He played just two Tests after his debut and finished with 5 wickets in 3 Test matches.

About 6 months after his Test debut, he also made his ODI debut. Even in the 50-over format, he represented India in only 3 games and took 5 wickets. His best figures, 3/33 came in his debut ODI game against West Indies at Bridgetown in May 2002.

Overall, he played just 6 international games and was picked up 10 wickets at an average of 37.79.

#1 S Sreesanth

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth is arguably the most famous Kerala-born cricketer to have played for the Indian national cricket team. The Kothamangalam-born fast bowler was a part of the team during two ICC World triumphs, the World T20 in 2007 and the ICC World Cup in 2011.

He was the first Kerala bowler to take a hat-trick in Ranji Trophy cricket in 2002. A few years later, he sledged Sachin Tendulkar and dismissed him in a Challenger Trophy game. After some impressive performances in domestic cricket, he made his international debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Nagpur in October 2005. He made his Test debut against England in 2006, and Nagpur was once again the venue.

Sreesanth went onto play 27 Test matches, 53 ODIs and 10 T20Is in his 5-year long international career. He last played an international game during India’s forgettable 2011 England tour (in a Test match).

The right-arm pacer continued playing domestic cricket and IPL in a bid to make a comeback before he was involved in a spot-fixing scandal during the IPL in 2013. The BCCI has banned him for life from all forms of cricket and hence, since May 2013, Sreesanth hasn’t played competitive cricket.