Sanju Samson leads Kerala against Rajat Patidar's Madhya Pradesh in the Mushtaq Ali opener

Sanju Samson returns as Kerala captain for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which begins against Rajat Patidar's Madhya Pradesh in New Chandigarh on Saturday

Kerala open their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign against Madhya Pradesh at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Saturday, a day-night fixture that starts Elite Group C for both sides.

The Kerala Cricket Association named an 18-member squad for the tournament, with Sanju Samson as captain and wicketkeeper.

Madhya Pradesh go in under Rajat Patidar, named captain of a 15-man squad, although he is expected to leave part-way through the league phase for India A duty.

Samson back in Kerala colours

Samson keeps wicket as well as leading, in a squad that also carries two other wicketkeepers in Mohammed Azharuddeen and Vishnu Vinod, with Rohan Kunnummal and Salman Nizar among the batters.

The all-rounder Jalaj Saxena is retained, and the left-arm wrist-spinner Vignesh Puthur is included alongside the seamers KM Asif, MD Nidheesh and Vaisakh Chandran.

Ahammed Imran, Govind Dev Pai, Krishna Devan, Akhil Scaria, Nikhil M, Biju Narayanan, Karthik B Nair and Sharafuddeen NM complete a squad drawn almost entirely from the state's recent domestic sides.

Samson comes to the tournament off a productive year in the shortest format. He made a rapid half-century in India's record chase of 226 in the first T20I against New Zealand at Christchurch in October, a game India won by four wickets with two balls to spare.

Patidar leads a side he is set to leave

Patidar's availability is the complication in Madhya Pradesh's plans. He is India A's vice-captain under Tilak Varma and is due in Doha for the Men's Rising Stars Asia Cup, which runs from 19 to 29 November.

That overlaps most of the group stage. The left-arm seamer Arshad Khan is also expected to join the India A squad for the same tournament.

If Patidar departs after Madhya Pradesh's second match, against Assam on Monday, the side coached by Chandrakant Pandit will need a stand-in captain for the remaining five group games.

Avesh Khan heads the attack

Avesh Khan is expected to lead the Madhya Pradesh bowling, with the spin pair of Saransh Jain and Kumar Kartikeya Singh and the batter Aniket Verma also in the 15.

The pace bowler Kuldeep Sen was not considered, having been left out while dealing with an injury.

The seam-bowling all-rounder Madhav Tiwari misses out again despite playing for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026 and for Ujjain Falcons in the state's Scindia Cup T20 competition.

Seven matches across two grounds

Elite Group C holds eight teams: Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Puducherry, Assam and Himachal Pradesh, each playing seven group matches.

Madhya Pradesh play their first four fixtures in New Chandigarh, against Kerala, Assam, Tripura and Andhra, before moving to Mohali for the matches against Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry, the last of them on 26 November.

The group programme runs from Saturday to 26 November, with Kerala and Madhya Pradesh meeting on the opening day and the group's fixtures split between the two Punjab grounds.

A domestic start with India away

The tournament opens while India's senior side is in New Zealand, where the fifth and deciding ODI at Bay Oval is played on Sunday.

Elsewhere in the first round, Karnataka meet Bengal at the Wankhede Stadium and Delhi face Jammu and Kashmir at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, both also on Saturday.

Both of those matches start at the same time as the New Chandigarh fixture.

Kerala and Madhya Pradesh begin the Elite Group C schedule in New Chandigarh on Saturday evening, the first of seven group fixtures for each side.