Goalkeeper Midhun to lead Kerala in Santosh Trophy

Goalkeeper Midhun V will lead Kerala in the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship.

The 22-member squad features 16 new faces. P B Ramesh has been named the coach.

Defending champions Kerala are placed in Group II  alongside Mizoram, Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. 

Group II and V action takes place in Kozhikode (December 26 to January 8, 2023) and Bhubaneswar (December 24 to January 1, 2023), respectively.

Group V features Meghalaya, Odisha, Sikkim, Telangana, Pondicherry and Andaman & Nicobar.

Kerala squad: Goalkeepers: Midhun V (Kannur), Ajmal P A (Malappuram), Alkesh Raj TV (Thrissur)

Defenders: Manoj M (Thiruvananthapuram), Shinu R (Thiruvananthapuram), Ameen K (Malappuram), Beljin Bolster ((Thiruvananthapuram), Mohammed Saleem U (Malappuram), Sachu Siby (Idukki), Akhil J Chandran (Ernakulam), Jeritto J ((Thiruvananthapuram).

Midfielders: Hrishidaath (Thrissur), Rashid M (Kasaragod), Gifty C Gracious (Wayanad), Nijo Gilbert (Thiruvananthapuram), Ajeesh P (Thiruvananthapuram),  Rizwan Ali (Kasaragod), Visakh Mohanan (Ernakulam), Abdul Raheem K K (Malappuram).

Forwards: Viknesh M (Thiruvananthapuram), Naresh B (Ernakulam), John Paul J (Thiruvananthapuram).

Reserves: Ajmal S (Palakkad), Asif O M (Ernakulam), Sreeraj K (Kasaragod), Arjun V (Ernakulam).

Head coach: Ramesh P B (Kollam)

Assistant coach: Bineesh Kiran (Kannur)

Goalkeeping coach: Hameed K K (Thrissur)

Manager: Muhammed Rafeeq (Kasaragod)

Kerala's fixtures: Versus Rajasthan (December 26); Versus Bihar (December 29); Versus Andhra Pradesh (January 1); Versus Jammu and Kashmir (January 5); Versus Mizoram (January 8).