KOCHI: Kerala’s newly appointed captain, Vishnu Vinod, wants to leave his imprint on this team, but he is keen that his players feel free to express themselves and play to their potential.The 32-year-old batter from Pathanamthitta, who also keeps wickets, takes charge of the Kerala team ahead of the Ranji Trophy opener against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur on October 11. “We are going into this season with a positive mindset, and all our energies are focused on the first game,” he told TOI. “I want to leave my imprint on this team, but I also want the boys to express themselves and not worry about their spot in the squad.“The core group is the same one that reached the Ranji final two seasons ago. The big change is in the dressing room, where former Goa batter Swapnil Asnodkar is the new coach. “I played several games against him when he was playing for Goa. He’s like an elder brother,” Vinod said. “We’re working on getting players to perform to the best of their potential.”Kerala pacer M D Nidheesh calls Vinod’s elevation an aggressive move. “He’s a captain who plays for results, very proactive and aggressive, with an out-of-the-box approach. He’s very inventive with his field settings,” Nidheesh said.He points to Kerala’s last league game of the previous season, against Goa. “On a dead, lifeless pitch, Kerala still forced an outright result, ending a lacklustre campaign on a high, thanks mainly to Vinod’s captaincy,” Nidheesh noted.KCA secretary Vinod S Kumar says the game against Goa in Porvorim, in which Kerala won by 9 wickets, was what prompted the selectors to hedge their bets on Vinod.“The team management and the selectors were impressed by how he marshalled his resources. It was a dead game for us, so we decided to give him a chance to lead, and he didn’t disappoint.”Kumar says Vinod endured a lean patch a couple of seasons ago, following which he bounced back via white-ball cricket. “He was out of form, but he got his verve back after strong performances in white-ball tournaments like the Syed Mushtaq Trophy.”Kerala’s squad blends youth and experience. The batting is led by Sachin Baby, Rohan S Kunnummal, Vinod, Mohammed Azharuddeen and Salman Nizar. MD Nidheesh, Eden Apple Tom and Basil N P spearhead the bowling, and veterans Jalaj Saxena and Aditya Sarwate are the guest players.They are placed in Elite Group C with Jharkhand, Odisha, Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Services.Squad: Vishnu Vinod (c, wk), Rohan S Kunnummal, Abhishek J Nair, Abhishek P Nair, Sachin Baby, Ahmed Imran, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wk), Salman Nizar, Varun Nayanar (wk), Jalaj Saxena, Vaishakh Chandran, Aditya Anand Sarwate, Anuraj J S, Abhijith Praveen V, M D Nidheesh, Eden Apple Tom, Pavan Raj, Basil N P.
