There was a time when Sachin Baby could do no wrong.
It was as though he were writing his own scripts—he was scoring mountains of runs and, as captain, led Kerala to its first-ever Ranji Trophy final.
His rich vein of form continued in the inaugural Kerala Cricket League as well. Sachin scored a century in the final, carrying Aries Kollam Sailors to the podium in 2024.
But cricket, like life, is a great leveller. The 2025-26 domestic season turned out to be a chastening experience for Sachin. Although he had a decent run in the second edition of KCL, guiding the Sailors to a second consecutive final, the runs dried up in the Ranji Trophy.
A string of soft dismissals and uncharacteristic dropped catches by him had whispers of him being dropped from the Ranji Trophy team mounting. And eventually, Sachin did lose his place.
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“Last season I endured one of the lowest points of my career with the Kerala team. To be honest, coach Amay Khurasiya was a bad influence, and there was a lot of negativity in the dressing room. Senior players Jalaj Saxena and Aditya Sarwate left due to differences with him. The coach wanted to drop me because of my age. However, I saved my career by scoring a century against Madhya Pradesh. I am still one of the fittest players in the squad, and it is not a crime to continue playing when you are past 35. I still have a few more years of cricket left in me,’’ said the 37-year-old Sachin.
Sachin has some unfinished business and is determined to prove his detractors wrong. As the newly appointed captain of the Alleppey Ripples, Sachin is focused on reversing the team’s poor run in the KCL. “It is an honour to lead the Alleppey Ripples. We have a well-balanced side, featuring some exciting talents like Sibin Girish and Abhijith Praveen alongside the experienced players like Jalaj and Mohammed Azharuddeen. My role will be to mentor the youngsters, make them feel at home and help them to realise their potential in the KCL,” he said.
On Kerala players getting overlooked in the IPL, Sachin felt the players must deliver impactful performances more consistently, not just in KCL but across major domestic white-ball tournaments. ”The IPL franchises are strictly looking for match winners, and the competition is cutthroat. Our players need to seize every opportunity and consistently deliver game-changing performances with both bat and ball. Furthermore, Kerala needs to reach the knockout stages of SMAT and VHT regularly for our players to be noticed by IPL scouts,’’ he concluded.
Published on Aug 12, 2026
