Smaran Ravichandran’s dream of playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) finally came true on Sunday after the Karnataka batsman was named in Sunrisers Hyderabad to play Xi against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday.
Smaran, Karnataka’s highly-rated batsman in domestic cricket, replaced all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who missed out due to illness, captain Pat Cummins informed during the coin toss. Along with Smaran, Sunrisers Hyderabad also brought in Harshal Patel to replace Harsh Dubey.
“We bat first. The pitch looks good and it’s very hot, we bat and post a total. I’m not good at reading pitches, it looks nice and it has to be a high score. Nitish misses out. He’s a bit sick, Smaran comes in for his first match and Harshal Patel replaces Harsh Dubey,” Cummins said during the match.
Everything you need to know about Smaran Ravichandran
Smaran first came into limelight during his U-19 days when he scored big for his state Karnataka. However, a stress fracture at the start of 2020 sidelined him for almost eight months. After returning to cricket, Smaran missed out on a place in the Indian squad for the 2022 Under-19 World Cup.
Smaran used the heartbreak as a confidence booster and eventually made his first-class debut for the Karnataka senior team in 2024. Since then, there has been no looking back for the southpaw southpaw. His biggest breakthrough came in the 2024–25 Vijay Hazare trophy where he finished as Karnataka’s second highest run-getter with 433 runs with two hundreds and two fifties.
The pinnacle of Smaran’s career came in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season, when the Karnataka batsman topped the list for most runs with 950 runs in nine matches, with a best of 227 not out. Smaran’s name started floating around IPL scouting circles in March 2025 when his clips from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru trials went viral on social media.
The tall batsman not only cleared the ropes but Smaran unleashed the spinners from the Chinnaswamy stadium. Unsold in the 2025 auction, Sunrisers Hyderabad signed up Smaran as a replacement for Adam Zampa in the middle of IPL 2025, but before he could play a game, the youngster was ruled out due to injury. However, the management of Sunrisers Hyderabad decided to keep him.
In just two seasons, Smaran has already established himself as one of India’s upcoming talents with the bat and is known for his single-minded strokeplay and composure under pressure. At Sunrisers Hyderabad, Smaran will bat in the middle order, with more of a finisher role.
SRH vs KKR playing XI
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (w), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga
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