Bengaluru: Following a monumental 950-run run campaign in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season, Karnataka’s rising star Ravichandran Smaran is keeping his feet firmly on the ground. Despite the lingering pressure that comes with a high-scoring domestic year, the 23-year-old left-hander is unburdened by expectations as he gears up to anchor South Zone in the upcoming Duleep Trophy at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE).

Playing a pivotal role in pushing Karnataka to last season's Ranji final, Smaran remains focused on process over pressure.
"I don't worry about expectations or burden myself with the thoughts of expectations on me as it is all about scoring as many runs as possible," Smaran told PTI. "It is all about practicing and training well ahead of a season to be in the right mindset."
Duleep Trophy: Setting the Tone

With the new domestic calendar kicking off, Smaran views the Duleep Trophy as a vital launchpad to keep himself in national team contention.
"It is an important tournament for me as there will be a lot of eyes on this tournament. Runs scored there matter a lot and if I can have a good run then that will set the tone for me for the rest of the season," he explained. "But my focus is on preparing well and I think the rest will fall in place."

Transitioning back to red-ball cricket after a six-month hiatus—having last played a First-Class game in the Ranji final against Jammu and Kashmir at Hubballi in February—has required a conscious shift.
"Yeah, it's a very important question. It is a significant thing to do as I need to transfer my thoughts and batting from white-ball cricket which I have been playing between April and May through the IPL," Smaran noted. "So, it's important to move over to red ball cricket and in that aspect the (state) league matches in Karnataka are helping me a lot to slip back into the red ball frame ahead of the season."

Tackling Spin and Expanding the Toolkit

To maintain his edge against quality bowling attacks across varying Indian pitches, Smaran has been actively fine-tuning his technique against spin.
"One thing about playing in domestic cricket is that you get to play against quality spinners on different surfaces in different parts of the country. You need to have a solid technique to get on top of that challenge," Smaran said. "So, you need to have different shots like sweep and reverse sweep to unsettle their rhythm, and I am working on them ahead of the season."
Multiformat Ambitions and IPL Takeaways

While his long-format prowess garners headlines, Smaran’s white-ball numbers are equally sharp—boasting a List A average of 50.33 and a T20 strike-rate of 155. Harbouring three-format ambitions for India, he aims to elevate his game even further.
"Let me make it clear that I would like to represent India in all formats. So, it comes down with practice and preparation I guess. Of course, I need to make that little mental and technical adjustment too," he said. "In T20s my strike-rate is now 155, and it's all about pushing the boundaries and see how I can get that to 170 or 180 (strike-rate), and that's one goal for the season. But as I said it all depends on my preparations."

His retention by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of IPL 2026 provided a massive boost, even though his on-field returns were modest (19 runs across six matches).

"It was a huge confidence booster for me to get retained by my IPL team, and a heartfelt thanks to the SRH management for keeping faith in me," he expressed. "Being part of the team helped me get used to the IPL atmosphere and when my turn came I went out with confidence, even though the matches did not pan out as I expected."

For Smaran, the environment around seasoned international stars proved priceless:
"You learn a lot of things when you play alongside such cricketers, who have been dominating international cricket for a long time. You learn a lot from them by just watching or talking to them," Smaran added. "You know, it's more about the mental side of the game you pick up from them, like how to tackle consistent pressure or a particular situation rather than technical matters."

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Target: Ranji Glory for Karnataka

Beyond individual milestones, Smaran’s primary motivation remains guiding Karnataka across the finish line after coming up short in the previous final.
"Lot of things are going on ahead of the season. I am playing alongside some of the seniors such as Shreyas Gopal in the ongoing state league. We are having a chat about the way forward," Smaran said. "Hopefully, we can come together as a team and start preparing for the season ahead. It's all about getting into the knockouts and then playing those three games well, which we nearly did last season. Hopefully, we can have a different result this year." (PTI)