As a young boy watching cricket on television, Manav Krishna was enamoured by M.S. Dhoni’s lightning-fast skills behind the stumps. He developed a fascination with wicket-keeping and dreamt of becoming a cricketer like the former Indian captain.
Key Factors
The 18-year-old heads into the tournament high on confidence after scoring a century against Sri Lanka in the second youth Test in July. Manav enjoyed a prolific 2025-26 season in the Cooch Behar Trophy, amassing 590 runs with two centuries. However, the Kerala Cricket League (KCL) has proved to be an elusive stage for Manav, who is yet to play a single match in the State’s premier T20 tournament. He was a surprise omission in the second season auction. Though he was picked as a replacement midway through the league, a call-up for the NCA camp delayed his KCL debut. “I am very confident that I will be able to adapt to T20 cricket, and I think I have the strokes to succeed in this format. I played on a good batting track in Sri Lanka and made good use of the opportunity. His batting was the lone bright spot for Kerala in a disastrous campaign. Manav’s consistent performance earned him a place in the Ranji Trophy team. He made his debut against Goa and impressed with his glovework, taking four catches and playing a small but significant role in his team’s consolation win.
I played the ball on merit, and it was satisfying to score a century against Sri Lanka,’’ he said.
