New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Shashi Tharoor has heaped praise on Karnataka’s rising batting star Ravichandran Smaran, calling attention to his extraordinary domestic form and lamenting how players like him often remain under-recognised.

Batting first in Hubli, Karnataka were rocked early at 13 for 2 and later 64 for 3, but Smaran once again stood tall, producing a career-best unbeaten 227 off 362 balls against Chennai on Monday.

“Remarkable. Important to draw attention to such under-publicised talents. No doubt he will have to excel in the IPL before the selectors will notice!” Tharoor posted on X, after the 22-year-old struck yet another monumental double century in the Ranji Trophy.

His innings, decorated with 16 fours and two sixes, formed the backbone of Karnataka’s massive first-innings total of 547 for 8 declared. He was supported by Karun Nair, who crafted a solid 95 during a 119-run stand, followed by valuable contributions from Shreyas Gopal (62) and Shikhar Shetty (59).

This knock marked Smaran’s second double century in three games and his third overall in first-class cricket, all inside his first 13 matches. He had earlier scored an unbeaten 220 against Kerala and a 203 against Punjab in January.

With this latest effort, he has surged to fourth in the season’s run-scoring charts with 595 runs at an astonishing average of 119, trailing only Sanat Sangwan, Karun Nair and Arman Jaffer.

Smaran’s rise has been rapid. A product of Karnataka’s youth system since Under-14 level, he already boasts 1,179 first-class runs at an incredible average of 78.6, including four centuries—three of them doubles. His List A numbers are equally impressive: 433 runs at 72.16, all from Karnataka’s victorious Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign in 2024–25. In T20s, he has 170 runs at a strike rate of 170.

Picked as a replacement by Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2025 and retained for IPL 2026, Smaran is yet to make his debut, but his domestic form continues to demand attention. His last 13 innings across formats read like a prodigy’s logbook: 76 in a VHT semifinal, a match-winning 101* in the final, a 203, 133*, 220*, scores in the 70s, 50s—and now this unbeaten 227.

–IANS

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