'Sanju Samson Has Left His Aura': Saly Believes Brother's Impact Will Motivate Kochi Blue Tigers in KCL | Exclusive

The Kerala Cricket League champions Kochi Blue Tigers have retained all-rounder Saly Samson as skipper for the third edition of the Kerala Cricket League (KCL 2026).

The elder sibling of Indian star Sanju Samson, who orchestrated a commanding campaign last season, will once again don the blue jersey at the helm, retained for ₹7.5 lakh alongside teammate Mohammed Ashiq.

Samson's stewardship in KCL Season 2 was nothing short of masterful. Under his astute guidance, the Blue Tigers clinched the title with a dominant 75-run victory over Kollam Sailors in the final, blending tactical acumen with all-round contributions.

His calm authority in high-pressure moments, coupled with vital wickets and sharp fielding-including spectacular catches-proved instrumental in transforming a talented but unproven unit into champions. The triumph marked a poignant family chapter, as Saly led while younger brother Sanju delivered explosive performances, including a blistering century.

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Saly Samson set to lead Kochi Blue Tigers in KCL 2026

And ahead of the third season of KCL, the elder sibling of the Samson brothers says he is ready to hone the role again. Speaking with MyKhel in an exclusive chat, Saly thanked the franchise for their faith in him.

"I am happy that they have given me the same responsibility this year and we have got a good balance game actually this time also. Almost all the core members we had in the last season, so we are happy about it."

"Just that we missed out on Sanju Samson, he is not there at this time, but otherwise we are really happy with the team."

Sanju, who played a few matches for Kochi last season in the KCL, will be missing this term and he mentioned his unavailability to the franchise beforehand. When speaking about the reason behind his brother's absence, Saly says it was a personal decision of Sanju.

It's just that he[Sanju] won't be as available as last season, so we didn't want to dwell too much on that. Nothing else."

Sanju Samson is set to be part of the Indian team for the upcoming Asian Games. With him already being left out of the Indian team for the Zimbabwe series, the KCL would have been a decent platform to sharpen his skills, but the Kerala star has decided against that.

Saly Samson eyes Batting contribution

Saly, unlike his brother Sanju, is an all-rounder. Along with his batting, the Kochi captain is capable of medium pace and he was successful with the ball last season. And ahead of the new challenge, he is preparing to play a more significant part with the bat.

"I want to contribute a bit more on my batting, on the field as well as bowling. I think I should use a little bit more potential which I have in my batting, which was not expressed last year. And I hope to do well this year with the bat."

Sanju Samson has left his 'Aura'

When it comes to Sanju's absence, Saly feels his brother's 'aura' is still palpable in the Kochi squad and collectively they will be pushing forward with the momentum which Sanju left from last season.

"Definitely, it is a challenge[to play without Sanju]. We got all the aura, all the performances and every other player benefited from that too, but actually, I feel the positive to look for is that he has left that thing on the team. So we still have that energy left, he showed us what we can do in the batting department, so the players will definitely take the lessons from that."