Ravikumar Samarth

A right-handed batsman who also bowls occasional off-breaks, Ravikumar Samarth, has grown into a lead role at the top of the order for Karnataka. The emergence of talents like KL Rahul and Manish Pandey and their subsequent entry into the Indian national team meant Samarth got a solid footing in the Karnataka Ranji line-up as an opening batsman.

Having played at various age-level tournaments, Samarth made his first-class debut for Karnataka during the 2013-14 season. Opening the innings, he made a fine 75 on debut against Mumbai, an innings that acted as a stepping stone for future conquests. A middling 2015-16 Indian domestic season saw Samarth accumulate 487 runs at an average of just over 40, but it was the 2016-17 season that saw the emergence of a talented top-order batsman.

With 702 runs at an average of 46.80, he comfortably emerged as Karnataka's leading run-scorer, also ensuring that the national selectors had an eye for him in the future.The belief wasn't misplaced as he was called-up as an injury replacement for Abhinav Mukund when the India 'A' team toured their South African counterparts for a tour comprising of two unofficial four-day Tests.

The Bangalore boy continued to stamp his authority in the domestic season. In 2017/18 Ranji Trophy season, Samarth piled up 652 runs in 12 innings at an average 59.27 and was one of the pillars behind Karnataka reaching the semi-finals of Ranji as well as clinching the Vijay Hazare Trophy a few months later. Unfortunately, despite impressive performances, Samarth failed to find a bid and went unsold in the IPL auctions.

However, the selectors rewarded the 25-year old subsequently post IPL by including him in the India A squad for the England tour in the 4-day format and Samarth made his presence felt instantly with a match-defining 127 in the second innings against Windies A.