I will go forward through runs and runs only: Smaran

There is a studious zeal to how R. Smaran goes about his cricket. While batting, he is focused and efficient and not outrightly flashy and extravagant. While speaking, he is both poised and confident without sounding overtly cerebral and nerdy. These facets found wholesome expression in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy as Smaran, 22, scored a chart-topping 950 runs in Karnataka’s first run to the final in over a decade.

What made it all the more remarkable was the fact that the performance came when the side had accomplished batters Karun Nair and Devdutt Padikkal for a majority of the games, and K.L. Rahul for the last four.

The campaign may have ended in an anti-climax — he was out first ball to the sensational Jammu & Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi in the final and Karnataka lost out on adding to its eight Ranji crowns – but the last time anyone younger than Smaran finished as the highest run-getter in India’s premier red-ball tournament was when a 21-year-old Shreyas Iyer made 1321 runs in 2015-16.

Smaran, under whose captaincy Karnataka won its maiden C.K. Nayudu (U-23) Trophy in 2023-24, spoke to The Hindu on his superlative season, his batting methods and mindset, and the upcoming IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Excerpts:

How does it feel to be the highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy?

It’s a great feeling. I set out at the beginning of the season with certain goals – score 1000 runs or remain at the top of the run charts. I fell short by 50 runs, but to be top is great. I am really grateful to god for giving me the platform and that many games to get those many runs.

You debuted in 2024-25. How different was season two from season one?

This time we went till the final in Ranji Trophy and I got to play that many more games in different conditions. There were a lot of learnings as to how I can tackle spin better, play fast bowlers better on a green top. We had a lot of experienced guys who play for the country joining us from the knockouts. We missed out on winning, but I learnt a lot both by being there in the middle and in the dressing room.

How did you sustain your red-ball form, across nine matches and nearly five months? Ranji is now played in two parts and the white-ball competitions are sandwiched…

The preparation in the off-season is done in the same way. You quickly switch between formats and practice in such a way that you don’t have much time to adjust. When you move from white ball to red, most batters tend to go for their shots and continue the same momentum. But red ball requires patience. You can still play your shots, but you need to know what your game is and how there’s a pattern to scoring runs.

Do you have a favourite knock?

The Mumbai one (83 n.o. in the fourth innings) would be my favourite. It was against Mumbai in Mumbai and when the situation was against us. We were three down [for 119], and chasing 325 is never easy. There was a small amount of nerves going in because in the three innings before that I hadn’t got runs. It was a do-or-die situation, but after I got a couple of boundaries in the first four-five balls, I eased a bit.

Rahul at the other end guided me as to what shots I could play and which bowlers to take on. We quickly put on 70-80 runs, and the field started spreading out. That knock is right up there.

What were you most pleased about?

The way I handled pressure after Rahul got out. Shreyas Gopal and Kruthik Krishna were also out quickly [with 40 runs needed], but the way I handled the pressure to take the game deep, rotate the strike and not go for the big shots… that is something I rate highly.

How have you progressed as a batter, from age-group cricket to the senior side?

Not many major changes technique-wise, but just about putting more value on your wicket. In the longest format, it is easy to throw away your wicket when you are settled.

It is important to know your gameplan, bat the opposition out of the game and give your bowlers the time to get 20 wickets.

I have had a lot of conversations with our coach Yere [Goud] sir, and with Karun and a lot of senior players about this.

Three of your six First Class centuries are double hundreds, and the three others are 135, 134 and 127. What’s with you and big knocks?

It’s just the hunger to convert hundreds into big hundreds. In India, you have so many talented players and almost every other guy gets a century.

The only way you can differentiate yourself from others is by scoring 160, 170 and double hundreds.

The emphasis is also on giving our bowlers enough time. If I get out immediately after my century, the new guy will find it hard.

In Karnataka’s 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph, you made 433 runs including a century in the final. In two editions of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20, you have a strike-rate of around 160. What has worked for you across formats?

Preparation in the off-season. Like I said before, you bat two-three days of red ball and then switch to white ball. But even in the shorter formats, it’s very important to know your game. For me, even if it’s in T20s, it is essential to observe those initial four-five balls.

Nowadays, you don’t have that luxury, and that is something I’m really working on. But for playing different formats, a lot of credit goes to my coach Syed [Zabiulla] sir and the regimen he put forward.

Being an all-format batter in India is tough. India’s Test and ODI captain [Shubman Gill] is not even there in the T20 team. How much work goes into compartmentalising your approaches?

A lot. When you make the switch, sometimes you still are in the past format.

Personally, I feel, anything that you do out there in the middle is a result of repeated practice.

The more repetitions you do, it becomes easier. Playing all three formats is never going to be easy. Practice has to be put into all three equally to ensure you excel.

I wanted to wind back a bit. Before you made your Karnataka debut in October 2024, your age-group teammates such as K.V. Aneesh, or the very young Hardik Raj, had already made the grade. Was there a feeling that your progress was slow? How confident were you that you will eventually get there, especially having once missed out on a U-19 India slot?

During that U-19 phase, I thought it was all about playing U-19 India. I didn’t even think about Ranji because U-19 India had so much value. But immediately after that, I kept no expectations.

When I played C.K. Nayudu Trophy, I felt that good things will always come to good people. I just needed to keep my head down and keep scoring.

Even when guys around me were going ahead and playing Ranji Trophy, I felt that they were going there because they had scored a lot of runs and taken a lot of wickets.

I believed my due will come. Even now, the only way I’ll go forward is through runs and runs only.

The C.K. Nayudu championship win really helped personally and I got my due.

Your first five Ranji Trophy matches were unremarkable, with a highest of 37. Can you talk about that period?

It’s a very proud feeling to represent your State and a lot of expectations come with it. Like any other player, I felt that I needed to cement my place. But I forgot to enjoy the game and the process of getting those big runs. In those five matches, I was not in the right headspace. But after that, we went into the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare trophies and I spoke to a lot of people. They told me to enjoy the game and not worry about the outcome.

I started doing that, and one thing led to the other. In the span of one-and-a-half months, we had the Vijay Hazare Trophy in our hands. It helped me build momentum for the second half of Ranji, and I got the double hundred against Punjab (203).

The IPL is next, and what are your expectations? You came in as a replacement player for Sunrisers in 2025 but didn’t play because you got injured. But the franchise retained you, and you will now be with some of the best T20 players like Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen…

I am very grateful to Sunrisers for having put their faith in me even though I was ruled out of the IPL last year.

They back a lot of youngsters, and I am looking forward to fulfilling whatever role is given to me.

The IPL is a long tournament and momentum is a big factor. With guys like Abhishek and Ishan [Kishan] coming in from the T20 World Cup win, it is going to help us.

To play with those who have dominated the T20 format over the past two, three years is a great thing.

It will help me assess my own game and improve. We reached the final two years back and we won in 2016. Hopefully, we can replicate 2016 in 2026.