All-format ambition a driving force behind Karnataka's run machine Smaran Ravichandran

New Delhi: Smaran Ravichandran has never been interested in choosing between formats. For Smaran, 22, the goal has always been to be a batter who excels in all three formats of the game.

"The goal right from the beginning when I started playing was to focus on all three formats and to become an all-format player for the country has always been my goal. All my work ethics and all the preparation that goes in during the off-season goes into all the three formats and not just one particular format.

"Yes, I would lay emphasis more on the red-ball aspect in order to play Tests for the country. But I think it's equally important to focus on the other two formats as well. As I said, my goal has always been to represent the country in all three formats. So I think even now my preparation and everything that I do will go into getting my team through across all three formats," Smaran told IANS in an exclusive conversation ahead of the start of Vijay Hazare Trophy, where Karnataka enter as defending champions.

It's an ambitious declaration, considering playing all three formats as a batter is a rarity due to hectic scheduling. But then its backed by numbers that suggest Smaran is literally walking the talk. From having a forgettable start to his first-class career, Smaran has quickly become one of the closely followed batters in Indian cricket, due to his ability to adjust seamlessly between formats.

His arrival into public memory came in last season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy, amassing 432 runs, including a match-winning century in the final. Then he ended the last Ranji season with scores of 203, 35 & 133 not out and had scores of 77 & 10, 3, 220 not out, 54 & 4 and 227 not out.

In that Vijay Hazare Trophy final against Vidarbha in Vadodara, Karnataka were struggling early on a pitch offering conditions suitable for batting. But Smaran, playing in his first senior final for the state, recognised an opportunity to do something special.

"We were three down for 60-65 odd runs (67/3). As I recollect, the wicket was good to bat and just needed one partnership to get the team through. Me and (KL) Shrijith (who made 78) got a really big partnership to take it forward from there.

“With Abhinav (Manohar) coming in at the end and giving us those hits got us to a very good score of 350 or 348 if I'm not wrong. Lifting the trophy for Karnataka has always been the dream. I'm glad that we did it and now heading into this Vijay Hazare Trophy, obviously we are the defending champions and hopefully we can get another title home," he added.

There's no hesitation when Smaran says the 101 that final stands at the top of his list of best knocks in his career so far. It’s not just for the runs but for what it represented - Karnataka's first domestic trophy in five years and his own arrival on the big stage.

His maiden first-class century, scored at his home ground M Chinnaswamy Stadium, comes a close second. It came in his sixth game after a lean opening phase, making the breakthrough all that sweet.

Smaran goes into the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy on the back of amassing 319 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 158.70 for Karnataka in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, though the team failed to qualify for the knockouts.

With a much longer break in hand, Smaran had time in hand to prepare for switching from 20-over cricket to 50-over format. After coming back to a chilly Bengaluru, Smaran had a week’s preparation to work on Vijay Hazare Trophy preparation with his childhood coach Syed Zabiulla, before playing a few practice games within the state’s set-up.

When not doing anything around cricket, Smaran enjoys playing paddle and catching up on all kinds of movies in Hindi, English and Kannada, but crime thrillers is his go-to genre to watch. But the transition from red-ball to white-ball wasn't straightforward, he admits. In the Ranji Trophy, emphasis is on occupying the crease for extended periods. T20 cricket demands explosive bursts and immediate gear changes, as well as 3-4 days of focus on quality power hitting.

But moving from T20 to 50-over cricket? That's more manageable for Smaran. "In Ranji Trophy, you focus on playing the entire day or one and a half days. The focus is to stay at the crease. But in T20s, it's about those short bursts of runs and intensity is higher, and you straight away switch into different gears.

“So that was challenging. Heading into Vijay Hazare, the switch is going to be easier compared from when we switched to Ranji Trophy to Mushtaq Ali because it's still the white-ball format. Obviously, in the 50-over format, you have that extra time of settling down and taking your time out there in the middle, unlike the T20 format."

Smaran's brief stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in this year’s IPL provided him with direct access to some of T20 cricket's most destructive players. Though he wasn’t a like for like replacement for Adam Zampa, Smaran conceded going from watching IPL matches on television to sharing a dressing room with a plethora of international stars was surreal.

Though his stint prematurely due to an injury picked after tripping over advertising hoarding while taking a catch in the practice, the conversations he had with Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan were very precious for Smaran, who stands just shy of six feet, and his long levers giving him a natural ability to clear the boundary. His strength lies square of the wicket - a result of picking lengths sharply and assured back-foot play.

"I spoke to Klaasen and I had conversations with Ishan as well regarding their aspects of and how they approach the game in the T20 format. A lot of valuable inputs came from Klaasen regarding how he stays still and how he keeps a solid base while hitting. Just conversations like that to inculcate into my game so that I can keep getting better at it," he said.

Those insights are now woven into his own game, as he continues to develop the power-hitting skills required in modern white-ball cricket. As someone who grew up admiring Kumar Sangakkara and Michael Hussey - two left-handers renowned for their adaptability across formats - Smaran understands what true all-format success looks like.

He recalls watching Sangakkara's 287 against South Africa, coming in a record 684-run stand with Mahela Jayawardene against Sri Lanka, leaving him in awe of the patience and concentration required to bat for long periods in Tests. That ability to occupy the crease through extended passages of play is something Smaran knows he must continue developing.

"There are still phases of the game where you feel during a Test game to go with your shots and that is something that I still have to work on But yes, a big aspect of Test cricket goes to patience, but that is still a work in progress and I just try to bat long phases of the game without losing concentration. I mean it's easy to say but to get the job done is really hard but that is something that I have to keep in mind," he said.

While his cricket career accelerates, Ravichandran hasn't abandoned his academics. He's currently pursuing an MBA in finance at Ramaiah University in Bangalore, after completing his B.Com degree. It's a balance his parents have always insisted upon.

"Right from the beginning they have been supportive of my journey and they have really allowed me to give me all the freedom to go ahead and pursue it side to side because with the competition in the country there is no guarantee with sport in general in the country," he says.

Are his parents satisfied with his progress in cricket? Well, not yet. "The answer is no because there is still a long way to go and my mom asked me why didn't you get runs in the last two games of the Mushtaq Ali trophy. So that’s something that always keeps me going and that is the motivation that my mom keeps giving me."

Smaran’s cricketing journey ironically began from a decision made by his mother – she need an activity to keep her restless son engaged and more importantly, be outside home. The solution arrived when a cricket coaching academy opened in the same residential layout where Smaran’s family still lives.

His mother enrolled him there, hoping it would burn off some of that restless energy. "I always had an interest towards cricket, but didn't know the facets of the game and how professional cricket worked. But I always had an interest towards batting and cricket in general. That's when I met my coach and things were gradually taken forward."

What began as a parenting strategy has become the foundation of a promising cricket career. In his early years, Smaran was an all-rounder who bowled off-spin, though its frequency has gone down. "I still bowl off-spin, but now I bowl a lot less. But till I was about 14 or 15, I played as an all-rounder, but then after a while when I grew in height, I didn't have that much of accuracy in my off-spin.

“But that is something that I still have to work on because the way the game is growing, having 2 or 3 skills is equally important. So that is something that I want to work on and I'm going to do it."

Smaran represented Karnataka at every level, making his under-19 debut at just 15 while also piling up runs in under-16 cricket. That early success fuelled a specific ambition: representing India at the 2022 Under-19 World Cup. Then Covid-19 pandemic arrived, and with it, the suspension of cricket worldwide.

When the game restarted, Smaran couldn’t make the cut for the mega event which India won. "That was something that I really had my mind on fulfilling. My main goal was to represent India at the under-19 World Cup but that didn't happen.

“But it's all part and parcel of the game. The game always has its ups and downs. After that, I realized that representing Karnataka at the senior level and playing Ranji Trophy for the state will be my biggest goal," he said with his tone being polite rather than bitter.

It was a recalibration rather than a setback and swiftly paved the way for Smaran to break into the senior Karnataka team. "I am glad that I got to make my debut last year and I am looking to take it forward from there. Again, the main goal is to still win a lot of tournaments with Karnataka and whichever team that I play for."

For Smaran, personal milestones matter less than collective success. Growing up watching Vinay Kumar-led Karnataka claim back-to-back Ranji Trophy titles and the trebles in 2013/14 and 2014/15 instilled in him a clear sense of what the state expects from the current crop.

"To stand there in whites or in any other format and just to lift the trophy with Karnataka has been a dream. Returning Karnataka to its consistent winning ways is going to be my main priority.

“Hopefully we can do in the upcoming years as well as in the season that we're in now - we can win both the trophies and bring it back home. Definitely that's the goal, irrespective of whether I'm on top of the runs or not, I think as long as we get the trophy back home, that itself is the cherry on the cake," he signed off.