INTERVIEW
Follow UsSmaran Ravichandran is quintessentially a neo-Bengalurean.
He isn’t that fond of heritage food places like MTR, CTR, or Vidyarthi Bhavan. He prefers Bengaluru Cafe’s dosas that are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
But his restlessness has remained a constant since childhood. Ever since he picked up that blade, he has channelled all that restlessness into scaling new heights with Karnataka at the age-group levels.
Having grown up watching Kumar Sangakkara’s whippy wrist and Michael Hussey’s class, it wasn’t until Smaran was 13 when he first announced himself, with 195 runs in four innings, including a top-notch century, which put him on a pedestal.
A few years later, in 2018, out of nowhere, his then-head coach Sunil Shankar informed Smaran that he had to pack his bags to play for the U-19 side, making a big jump to the Cooch Behar Trophy [Under-19 tournament] from the Vijay Merchant Trophy [Under-16 tournament].
Unfortunately for Smaran, that crazy growth came to an abrupt end when his career stagnated at the age-group level, going consecutive domestic seasons in Karnataka’s senior probables only to never be shortlisted.
“For the past two years, I’ve been in the probables, it is disappointing as a cricketer because, ultimately, you want to represent Karnataka at the highest level and take it from there. You can only control the controllables,” Smaran opened up on the snub in a Cricket.com exclusive.
“It is a disappointment, but accepting the fact that I’m not in the team has led to me improving my own game. That’s what I keep working on during the off-season, putting in the hard yards so that I come back stronger with more runs.”
And that’s exactly what he did. Smaran started the 2023-24 domestic season, helping Karnataka lift their maiden CK Nayudu Trophy [Under-23 tournament], where he amassed 829 runs in a single season, including a swift 134-ball century against Uttar Pradesh, showing a range of shots, counter-attacking in fine fashion.
“My mindset has always been to take on the bowling unit. There are different situations when you go out to bat. You have to assess the wickets, the bowlers and the situation of the team. I know that once settled, I can take the bowling on. It is very easy to accelerate; the mindset has always been there to be positive and bat as per the team’s requirement,” Smaran added.
Image Courtesy: Deccan Herald
But what was tougher for Smaran, leading a bright Karnataka team or scoring 829 runs in the tournament?
“If you ask me personally, scoring 829 runs was harder because, as a captain, we had a wonderful bunch of players. Our coach [Yere Goud sir] and assistant coach, Rohit Sabharwal sir, guided me and made things very easy for me as a captain. Of course, decisions and other aspects get a little tricky, scoring those runs was the tougher part,” he reflected.
Until last year, Smaran had put more of his efforts, both physically and mentally, into improving his red-ball game, but a change in focus towards T20s resulted in him making the headlines at the recently concluded Maharaja T20 trophy.
Plying his trade for Gulbarga Mystics, the left-hander smashed 302 runs in the 2024 season, averaging 43.14 while still maintaining a strike rate of 145.19. It was a remarkable improvement from a batter who was, till 2023, only known for his red-ball exploits.
“Compared to last year, I worked a little more on the T20 aspect of the game. I was thinking more about representing Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy format, so I didn’t pay much attention to T20. But this year, I worked more on the T20 aspect. I wouldn’t say I had a phenomenal season, but I was quite satisfied with the way I batted in the Maharaja T20 trophy,” Smaran revealed what changed for him.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t win and go all the way, but it was a good season personally,” Smaran revealed what changed for him.
His best knock of the season came against a strong Mysore Warriors bowling unit that consisted of Vidyadhar Patil, CA Karthik, Krishnappa Gowtham, Manoj Bhandage and Deepak Devadiga,
At 60/4, Gulbarga Mystics were staring at a loss, but that’s when Smaran showed his ‘A’ game, first putting a stand with Wahid Faizan Khan (18 off 11) and Praveen Dubey (37 off 21), as the southpaw recorded the best-ever display in this year’s tournament, an unbeaten 60-ball 104, which led to the Mystics sealing a last-ball thriller.
“We were chasing 200-odd, we lost a couple of quick wickets, the wicket was very good to bat on. My mindset was to always take the game deep if we had wickets in hand, and if I’m settled, I knew that we could get even 60-70 runs,” he recollected.
“I’m glad that a lot of people in my team supported me, and had good partnerships out there, [Wahid] Faizan and Pravin Dubey at the end. The mindset was to always take it deep, and everything worked out in my favour that day. I must thank the Gulbarga Mystics management for showing faith and supporting me throughout the last two seasons.”
Until that knock, Smaran was unaware of the ‘scouts’ present at the venue, but even after he became aware, it didn’t really affect his game, with two half-centuries in the next five games. From the outside, Smaran might not have been as flashy as Abhinav Manohar or as prolific as Karun Nair, but there were numerous impressive things for the scouts beyond just the numbers.
One of them being his fitness and his ability to convert those ones into twos.
“The way the game is progressing, it is going towards scoring boundaries. Many people neglect the fact of how important singles and doubles are in the game. It puts the bowler immediately on the back foot. The importance of this aspect of the game was imbibed in me by my childhood coach, Syed sir,” Smaran said.
“Every batter wants to hit fours and sixes, but I’m not a guy who can clear the fence so easily. I take some time out there in the middle and negotiate my way through the middle.”
“I capitalise on the loose balls and put them for a four or six. The fitness part is very important, and a huge credit for my fitness goes towards Invictus Performance Lab, I have been associated with them for close to four years now. They have taken care of every aspect of my fitness in the last four years. They have pushed me constantly, maintaining my body in the right manner.”
Throughout the interview, Smaran prominently mentioned Syed Zabiullah, for he has coached him for the longest time, right from his toddler cricketing days. Under his tutelage, not only has Smaran improved his game by leaps and bounds but also learnt the innate value of patience—a value that is now driving him within touching distance of making it to Karnataka’s senior level.
“I’ve been with him [Syed] sir, right from the beginning, he’s taught me a lot of things, not just in cricket but in life skills and how you keep yourself and conduct yourself outside cricket. I used to play some reckless shots and get out early. He’s taught me a lot about patience, it is always worth it in the end. He always told me that I would eventually understand the value of patience. That value has been really important for the way I bat,” Smaran reflected.
But Smaran’s goals are much more prominent, he wants to bring back the glory days of Karnataka.
“The immediate goal is to represent Karnataka in all three formats, and representing them is one thing. The main goal is to win all the trophies with Karnataka, it has been a while since we have got the trophy home,” he said.
That restlessness and patience has brought him here, now the only question remains: when will Smaran finally don that Karnataka jersey?
