Named In South Zone Squad For Duleep Trophy, Journeyman Spinner Switches State Again

There seems to be a great relay of spinners in the Indian domestic season 2025-26. Just ahead of the start of the season, Kerala’s favourite professional, Jalaj Saxena, announced that he will not play in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26, meaning that Kerala will have to let go of their main left-arm spinner who was crucial to them reaching the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 final. 

Then came the news of India international Jayant Yadav switching sides from Haryana to Puducherry so that he can play all formats of domestic cricket and build up his credentials. 

With another professional coming down to Puducherry, their established pro, left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, Ankit Sharma, decided to leave and guess where he is going? Kerala. 

So the cycle was nearly completed with Haryana being left with one great spinner left. Maybe Jalaj could decide to play for Haryana. Who knows? In the end, he left Madhya Pradesh (MP) for Kerala. However, it is important not note that Jalaj has so far not sought No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Kerala. 

Talking about leaving MP, Ankit is himself a journeyman of sorts, having left MP for Puducherry ahead of the 2022-23 season. He has featured in 14 First-Class games for the South Indian side, taking 49 wickets and scoring 441 runs with both the batting and bowling averages in the 20s. 

Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) sources, according to Cricbuzz, have confirmed the speculation of movement, saying, "We have interviewed Ankit. He had come down to Kerala for an interview, but we have yet to make a final decision.”

If the deal does go through, he will be one of the two professionals that Kerala would be looking to hire to fill the gaps created by the departure of Jalaj and Aditya Sarwate. 

Ankit was recently named to the South Zone squad as a replacement for the injured Sai Kishore.