Most Underrated Retention? ₹30 Lakh SRH Star Smashes 3rd Double Ton In Just 13th Game

He has been retained for just ₹30 lakh, and he is currently in the middle of one of the most outrageous purple patches any batter could hope for. That’s right, it seems there is no stopping Karnataka’s Ravichandran Smaran, who today against Chandigarh smashed his second double century of the ongoing Ranji season and the third of his career already - in just his 13th game. 

At the time of writing this report, Smaran, batting on 204*, averages a whopping 76.8 in first-class cricket, with the 22-year-old converting three of his four centuries in first-class cricket into double-tons. 

Batting at No.5, Smaran walked in at 64/3 with Karnataka in a spot of bother. But he stitched a 120-run stand with the in-form Karun Nair, and then single-handedly carried the innings to continue his astonishing form. 

This double century means that Smaran’s scores in this Ranji season so far read 204*, 54, 4, 220*, 3, 77 & 10. The previous double ton came against Kerala in Mangalapuram. His first double century, which came only seven FC games ago, was against Punjab in Bengaluru.

Having already represented South Zone in the Duleep Trophy, an India ‘A’ call-up seems imminent for the 22-year-old. What’s crazy is that the left-hander averages 72.16 in List A cricket with a strike rate over 100.00.

Bought as a replacement player by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2025, Smaran missed the tournament due to injury. But he’s been retained by SRH ahead of IPL 2026, and so expect him to play a significant role in the forthcoming edition. In T20s, the youngster averages 34 with a strike rate of 170.00.