Kochi: For Kerala, winning the Vijay Hazare South Zone Cricket Championship was a dream come true. And the under-16 dreams do not stop there. They now dream of winning the national championship which will be held in a knockout phase at Mumbai from January 1 onwards.
“It is after several years we have finished in the top position in the south zone championship. This is a very good result for the players after many years of hard work,” said Biju Mon, coach of the victorious under-16 team.
Kerala would be aiming to win the all-India knockout tournament, which the team has now qualified for by finishing top in the South Zone competition.
“We were seen as minnows by most of the teams, but at the end of the South Zone championship, we had made a mark for ourselves and received praises from all quarters, including our opponents.
If we are able to give a similar performance in the national competition, we can win it,” said Biju Mon
At the conclusion of the Vijay Merchant trophy (South Zone) Inter-State matches held at Chennai, Kerala and Tamil Nadu topped the points table with 17 points each. But by virtue of better run quotient, Kerala was declared the winner.
“Thanks to Kerala Cricket Association’s investment in the game, we have shown considerable improvement. Kerala was a team that was taken for granted earlier. But now, in every domestic tournament, our players have left an example for other teams to follow. The same thing is happening in the under-16 team also,” he added.
Squad: Rohan S. Kunnummal, Anand Krishnan, Unnimon Sabu, GK Prem Sagar, Ashwin Anand, EP Vyshnav, Akhil Anil, Anantha Krishnan, Arun K. Ajimon, F Fanoos, Sijomon Joseph (captain) , Mohammed Safwan, Sanju Sajeev, Rohit Cherian, S. Sourav, P. Aneesh. Coach: N. Biju Mon, Assistant coach: Pratheesh, team manager: Pradeep, Physio: Thomas.
