The Kerala cricket team is a domestic cricket team based in the Indian state of Kerala. It is in the Elite Group of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first class cricket tournament in India. It was known as Travancore-Cochin cricket team until 1957/58.
Kerala has produced two Indian Test cricketers, Tinu Yohannan and S. Sreesanth. Sanju Samson has represented India in T20Is and ODIs, Sandeep Warrier has represented India in one T20I, while Basil Thampi has a national call-up to his name. The team also lined up ex-Indian International players Sadagoppan Ramesh for two years from 2005 to 2007 and Robin Uthappa, from 2019 to 2022. Kerala has also produced Krishna Chandran, who played at International level for United Arab Emirates.
Kerala began competing in the 1957âÂÂ58 Ranji Trophy, succeeding the Travancore-Cochin cricket team after the states were reorganized. It competed in the South Zone, against Madras/Tamil Nadu, Mysore/Karnataka, Andhra and Hyderabad. In 1957âÂÂ58 Kerala lost all four matches, three of them by an innings.
In the 1959âÂÂ60 season, Kerala's Balan Pandit (262*) and George Abraham (198) put up a 410 runs partnership in the fourth wicket, which is the highest in Indian first-class cricket. Pandit's score remained the highest for Kerala in FC format until the 2007âÂÂ08 season.
Kerala's best season in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was in 2012âÂÂ13 season where they finished 3rd, missing out from finals after losing the last league stage match to eventual champions Gujarat.
By the end of the 2016âÂÂ17 season, Kerala had played 302 first-class matches, and won 46, lost 140 and drawn 116. In List A cricket Kerala had played 120 matches, with 47 wins, 71 losses and two ties.
Kerala reached the pre-quarterfinal of Ranji Trophy in the 1994âÂÂ95 season when they progressed as South zone winners under the captaincy of KN Ananthapadmanabhan. They were qualified for the Super League after emerging as the south zone winners in 1996âÂÂ97 under leadership of Feroze V Rasheed. Kerala reached plate final in 2002âÂÂ03 and semifinal in 2007âÂÂ08.
In November 2017, they progressed to the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy for the first time, when they finished second in Group B of the 2017âÂÂ18 tournament. The following season, they progressed to the semifinals for the first time after beating former champions Gujarat in the last eight.
Kerala reached its first Ranji Trophy final in the 2024âÂÂ25 season, doing so in dramatic fashion after first innings victories in the quarterfinal and semifinal by one run and two runs respectively.
The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) is the governing body for the Kerala cricket team. It was founded on 1951 and is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Kerala State Sports Authority (KSSA). It is the parent body of the 14 district associations in Kerala.
Players with International caps are listed in bold.
Updated as on 1 February 2026
Players from Kerala who have played international cricket for another country, along with year of debut:
Prominent cricketers at the domestic level: