The Vijay Hazare Trophy runner-ups already have a strong batting line-up
Vidharbha had a superb 2024-25 domestic season as they reached the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy followed by winning the Ranji Trophy by beating first-time finalists Kerala in the title clash.
Their incredible consistency was aided by a massive contribution of 1,642 runs from 24 innings scored by experienced batter Karun Nair. His Vjay Hazare exploits single-handedly powered Vidharbha to the final and that coupled with his four hundreds and two fifties helped the team clinch the Ranji title in superb fashion.
The performances also paved the way for Nair’s return to the national team after an exile of eight long years with the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy as he played four Tests in the series.
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During the course of the series, Nair had also sought NOC from Vidarbha as he was returning to Karnataka, his home state for the 2025-26 season.
As Vidarbha set out to defend their Ranji title, they have roped in another former Karnataka batter in the form of Ravikumar Samarth, according to a report by Cricbuzz.
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Samarth had left Karnataka for Uttarakhand last season after 11 years of playing for Karnataka. He played 21 matches across the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Ranji Trophy and scored a total of 1,214 runs.
Karnataka have won the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2024-25 for the fifth time and will be bolstered by the arrival of an experienced head like Nair.
Besides Samarth, Vidarbha will also see Delhi veteran Dhruv Shorey in the ranks as their second recruit after signing him last season. Samarth, who featured for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, has played a total of 95 First-Class matches and has scored 6,157 runs at an average of 39.
Vidarbha already have a strong batting line-up in the form of talented young batters such as Yash Rathod and Danish Malewar while they also have all-rounder Harsh Dubey who broke the record for the highest wickets in a single season of Ranji Trophy with 69 wickets to his name.
