The 29-year-old who was not included in Kerala's squad for the first round, is expected to return to the team. However, leadership duties will remain with Sachin Baby, who guided Kerala to an eight-wicket victory against Punjab in the opening round at Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram, where spin-bowling all-rounder Aditya Sarvate was the Player of the Match for his nine-wicket haul in the game. Speaking more of the second round, Kerala will be up against Karnataka for their second match of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25. The four-day fixture will begin on Friday, October 18, and is slated to be held at KSCA Three Ovals Stadium, Alur, as Karnataka's premier home ground, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, is busy hosting the first Test between India and New Zealand for the ongoing three-match series.  I believe I have the skill set to succeed in red-ball cricket: Sanju Samson Samson has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket, having scored 177 runs at an average of 35.40 in four Ranji Trophy matches last season. He also participated in two Duleep Trophy matches earlier this year and scored 196 runs across four innings, including a brilliant 106 against India B. Meanwhile, in a recent interview with The Hindu, he expressed his desire to play Test Cricket for India. '"I believe I have the skill set to succeed in red-ball cricket, and I just don't want to be restricted to just white-ball cricket. I desire to play Tests for India. Before the Duleep Trophy, the leadership group had told me that they were considering me for red-ball cricket and asked me to take it seriously and play more Ranji Trophy matches,'' Samson said.   Kerala's next challenge in the Ranji Trophy will be an away fixture against Karnataka in Alur. The team will look to build on their strong start to the season, with Samson's presence potentially providing the extra edge.