Kerala captain Sachin ends IPL 2025 without facing a ball
Sachin Baby’s only start came against Delhi Capitals on May 5, which was called off due to rain.
Sachin Baby’s only start came against Delhi Capitals on May 5, which was called off due to rain.
Sachin Baby’s only start came against Delhi Capitals on May 5, which was called off due to rain.
On May 5, when Pat Cummins handed out the Sunrisers Hyderabad team sheet, there was a lot of excitement in Kerala cricket because the state men's team captain, Sachin Baby, had been given his first start in IPL 2025.
But the joy was shortlived as the match was called off after the Delhi Capitals' innings ended due to unrelenting rain in Hyderabad.
On May 25, Sachin was named on the bench, like he had been in most Hyderabad matches this season. But any hope of seeing the left-hand top-order batter in action, as an impact sub, was put out in the blink of an eye because the Sunrisers' got off to an explosive start, with openers Abhishek Sharma (32 off 16) and Travis Head (76 off 40) adding 91 in just 6.5 overs. Then came the Heinrich Klaasen blitzkrieg (105 not out off just 39 balls) as Sunrisers posted a massive 278/3.
With the Sunrisers already knocked out, without making the playoffs, Sachin has ended IPL 2025 without facing a single delivery.
Ahead of the IPL, Sachin had led Kerala to the final of the Ranji Trophy for the first time, scoring 98 in the final against Vidarbha. He was one of the three Kerala players picked from the IPL auction, with the others being Vishnu Vinod (Punjab Kings) and Vignesh Puthur (Mumbai Indians). Sanju Samson, who captains Rajasthan Royals and whose playing time was never in doubt, is the fourth Kerala player in IPL 2025.
Sachin was clearly unlucky that the weather played spoilsport when he got an opportunity to show his qualities. But it is only fair to say that the Sunrisers coaches overlooked him even when their top order failed to accumulate runs in the middle of the season, leading to their exit.