Vidarbha have filled in the vacant spot after Karun Nair moved on to his home state as a personal choice. Ravikumar Samarth is Nair’s like-for-like substitute as he also hails from Karnataka, and this state is the batting powerhouse for Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA). In the next 2025-26 domestic edition, the 32-year-old batter will be available after representing Karnataka since the beginning of cricket, but he joined Uttarakhand in the last edition.
The defending champions of the Ranji Trophy, Vidarbha, have almost finalised the deal with R Samarth, as he has received the NOC from Uttarakhand. The formalities are pending with Vidarbha. He brings experience equating to 95 first-class games, where he amassed 6157 runs with an average of 39.72. According to a VCA official, Samarth’s joining is underway.
Active in domestic career since 2013, Samarth played with his home side before the 2023-24 edition as he went to Uttarakhand. In his last stint, he played seven games for each List A, T20 format and first-class format, scoring runs fairly with averages of 55, 30 and 54 respectively.
Finally, Vidarbha have found an impactful solution after Nair stepped down as a top-notch batter for his former side and propelled the team to lift the Ranji Trophy in the previous edition, where he amassed a terrific 863 runs in nine matches.
Ravikumar Samarth Domestic Cricket Career Stats
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC | 95 | 166 | 11 | 6157 | 235 | 39.72 | 12194 | 50.49 | 15 | 35 | 704 | 12 | 87 | 0 |
| List A | 71 | 68 | 6 | 3050 | 192 | 49.19 | 3751 | 81.31 | 10 | 17 | 297 | 13 | 30 | 0 |
| T20s | 30 | 27 | 1 | 459 | 54 | 17.65 | 431 | 106.49 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 13 | 11 | 0 |
