Karnataka’s Ravichandran Smaran, who struck an unbeaten 227 — his second double ton of this Ranji Trophy season — against Chandigarh, said it was “very easy” to bat with Karun Nair and that he benefits from Karun’s constant guidance.
The fourth-wicket pair had added 343 runs in Karnataka’s innings win against Kerala, and put on 119 against Chandigarh on Sunday.
“Karun constantly guides me based on how the wicket is. He keeps telling me what shots are on and what shots are risky on a particular wicket. If two spinners are bowling, he puts so much pressure on them. Then the field spreads, and it’s just about (strike) rotation and playing the sessions out. Having him in our team is really a blessing. When he is batting out there in the middle, it makes things easy for us,” he said.
On his pre-season preparation, Smaran said: “I think winning the Ranji Trophy has always been my priority, because we haven’t been able to win it for 10 years. So, there was a special focus on the preparation for the red-ball season. To convert those starts into big scores was the main focus. I worked with my coach Syed Zabiullah, looking to take the game deep and bat out those sessions.” Reflecting on his prolific season so far, he said: “It’s just the start, and I think there is still a long way to go. You’ve got to keep piling on the runs. You can’t relax at any point in time.”
Published – November 17, 2025 11:45 pm IST
