Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have signed up India domestic sensation Smaran Ravichandran as replacement for the injured Adam Zampa for the remainder of IPL 2025.
Smaran Ravichandran has played just seven First-Class games, 10 List A matches and six T20s. He has over 1100 runs from these matches and turned heads in recent domestic tournaments including a scintillating hundred in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 final for Karnataka. The left-handed batter joins SRH for INR 30 Lakh.
Ravichandran Smaran is a promising 21-year-old cricketer from Bangalore, Karnataka, known for his consistent batting performances in domestic cricket. Despite being overlooked in consecutive IPL auctions (2024 and 2025), Smaran has channeled his ambition into delivering stellar performances for Karnataka across formats.
In his debut season during the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he immediately made an impact with a match-winning knock of 57 off 31 balls against Tripura, ultimately finishing with 170 runs at an impressive strike rate of 170.
Smaran further showcased his potential in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. He started strongly with an unbeaten century (100 off 87 balls) in his first match and continued contributing significantly throughout the tournament, notably scoring crucial innings of 40 and 83 in group stages. His pivotal 76-run innings in the semi-final against Haryana set Karnataka on the path to victory, and his masterful century (101 runs off 92 balls) in the final against Vidarbha helped Karnataka clinch the title, ending a six-year trophy drought.
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Carrying his form into the Ranji Trophy 2024-25, Smaran displayed remarkable resilience and concentration by converting his maiden first-class century into a commanding double hundred against Punjab, anchoring Karnataka’s innings to secure a dominant lead.
A confident individual, Smaran is confident of converting his domestic performances into the big stage.
“At senior level, I don’t think there is much difference in skillsets and technique. It is the same across all age groups. It is the mindset that matters. You need to be patient to assess every situation at this level,” Smaran said in an exclusive interview with CricXtasy earlier this year. “It’s everyone’s dream to play in the IPL and showcase our skills there. But I think it (chance in the IPL) is a byproduct of winning championships for Karnataka.”
Incidentally, it was his sensational performance in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy that gained him eyeballs and trials from IPL teams. Although none of the trials materialised into an actual contract until now, Smaran Ravichandran was already making waves in the domestic circuit.
Despite going unsold in the IPL 2025 mega auction, Ravichandran Smaran’s association with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) caught attention when he was spotted training at their camp post-auction. This immediately sparked speculation about a possible mid-season replacement opportunity. At the time, RCB were reportedly monitoring backup options for Manoj Bhandage, who had suffered a leg injury.
There were also murmurs about Jacob Bethell’s availability, which added to the buzz around Smaran. However, both Bethell and Bhandage recovered in time and remained part of the squad, meaning Smaran’s potential IPL debut was put on hold. This delay ultimately worked in favour of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who were able to rope him in later as a replacement when the opportunity opened up.
In March 2025, just weeks before the IPL season began, Ravichandran Smaran grabbed headlines with a blistering run of form in the DY Patil T20 Tournament. Representing Canara Bank, the left-handed batter scored 190 runs in just three matches at a phenomenal strike rate of 186.27. His fearless approach saw him smash 13 fours and 13 sixes, including three back-to-back half-centuries. Smaran’s aggressive intent and clean hitting drew widespread attention
| Format | Matches | Runs | HS | Average | SR | 100s | 50s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Class | 7 | 516 | 203 | 64.50 | 65.56 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| List A | 10 | 433 | 101 | 72.16 | 100.23 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| T20s | 6 | 170 | 57 | 34.00 | 170.00 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
Replacing a leg-spinner with a domestic Indian batter is a bizarre move on paper, but it makes perfect sense for SRH. Zampa was picked at the auction with SRH needing a quality leg-spinning option. But with Zeeshan Ansari performing well for them, the injury to the Aussie bowler presented them a chance to solidify their squad for the upcoming seasons with a good domestic talent who had turned heads.
However, Smaran is a top-order player and the SRH line-up already has plenty of such options in Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. Notably, Smaran is also a left-hander like these three. This means that he’s unlikely to get a go in the top-order unless Kishan’s form continues to spiral downwards.
Where SRH might use him though is in the Nitish Reddy role at No.4 or No.5 behind Heinrich Klaasen and use Nitish down the order to partner Aniket Verma for some power hitting. That said, even if Smaran doesn’t make the first-choice XI this year, SRH have made a solid signing for the future with the 21-year-old who would have definitely gone for a big money in the mini auction later this year.
Updated SRH squad for IPL 2025: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Aniket Verma, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins(c), Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Simarjeet Singh, Smaran Ravichandran, Sachin Baby, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Wiaan Mulder, Kamindu Mendis, Rahul Chahar, Atharva Taide, Eshan Malinga.
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