Ranji: Karnataka’s Smaran and lessons on playing the long innings

The Karnataka Ranji Trophy team has been the launchpad for many batters to realise their dream of playing for India.

- Samreen Razzaqui

Karnataka's R Smaran celebrates after scoring a double ton.

(PT)

In the last decade, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Devdutt Padikkal and Manish Pandey have all made the transition, on the weight of runs scored and quality seen in them.

Ravichandran Smaran is the latest Karnataka batter who is making a splash with his ability to play big innings and consistency. The ongoing Ranji season reads like the youngster is finally stepping into the version of himself he always felt he could be.

The 22-year-old is enjoying a sensational stretch in first-class cricket, the latest an unbeaten 227 in the win over Chandigarh, two games after an unbeaten 220 against Kerala. The left-handed middle-order batter's last eight outings have been first-class games. And they have yielded 1,034 runs at an average of 114.9, with three double centuries, one hundred and three fifties.

The only game in this sequence where he didn’t get at least a fifty was against Goa.

The two double hundreds in his latest Ranji high comes after surviving the quiet phases, injuries, and lapses in concentration that threaten to pull apart a long innings.