Ravikumar Samarth

Ravikumar Samarth is a right-handed top-order batter and occasionally turns his arm around with some handy off-spinners. The 29-year-old is known for his elegant batting and effortless stroke play. He is one of those who like to take his time and usually keep the ball along the carpet. R Samarth has a very sound technique and puts a high price tag on his wicket.

Samarth did his schooling at the Bishop Cottons Boys’ School and BCom at SBM Jain College.

He played for Karnataka at various age-group levels such as U-12, U-14, U-16 and U-19, before making his first-class debut for Karnataka in December 2013.

Opening the innings, he made a gritty 75 on debut against Mumbai, an innings that acted as a stepping stone for future conquests. In the 2015-16 Indian domestic season, Samarth accumulated 487 runs at an average of just over 40. But it was the 2016-17 season which can be termed as the breakthrough year for the richly talented bloke. He piled up 702 runs at an average of 46.80 in that particular season and was Karnataka's leading run-scorer. The Mysuru-born was called up as an injury replacement for Abhinav Mukund when the India 'A' team toured the South Africa in 2017.

Later, in the 2017-18 season of Ranji Trophy, Samarth made 652 runs in 12 innings at an average of 59.27 and was one of the reasons behind Karnataka reaching the semi-finals of the prestigious tournament as well as clinching the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) a few months later. 

Despite impressive performances, Samarth failed to find a bid and went unsold in the 2021 auctions of Indian Premier League (IPL). But in mega-auctions of IPL 2022, he managed to bag a contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 20 lakh rupees. 

(As of February 2022)