Karnataka opener Ravi Kumar Samarth replaces Abhinav Mukund for two unofficial Test matches against South Africa A. Mukund was selected as the third opener for upcoming test series against Sri Lanka starting from 26th July.
The left-handed batsmen Mukund made his Test debut against England in 2011 and since then he has played 6 matches scoring 227 runs with the best score of 62.
He made into the test team after a gap of six years against Bangladesh and also played only 1 test match against Australia scoring just 0 and 16 in both innings. Samarth made the first-class debut for Karnataka during the 2013-14 season against Mumbai. He has played 29 matches, scoring 2073 runs with the best score of 235. In the 2016/17 season, Ravi Samarth Kumar was the leading runs scorer for Karnataka with 702 runs in 9 matches with the best score of 235.
Karnataka qualified for the quarter finals and Lost to Mumbai by 7 wickets. During his first full season for Karnataka, Samarth smashed 726 runs while in the 2015/16 season, he scored 513 runs.
Samarth after selecting for India A tour of South Africa A. “This is the first time I am getting selected for India “A”. It came as a total surprise because the squad had already been announced. But this is a great opportunity for me and hopefully, I can do well,” said Samarth.
Ravi Samarth has been instrumental in helping Karnataka to win back to back titles in Ranji Trophy. With Karun Nair as the captain of the test team, Samarth would like to grab the chances with both hands. The conditions in South Africa would help the Pacers and it would be a great test for the youngster to showcase his talent to the world.
“The BCCI informed us. He has been called up to the India “A” four-day squad and he will replace Abhinav Mukund,” KSCA secretary Sudhakar Rao said on Monday (July 10).
He has played 10 List A matches and also 14 T20 matches for Karnataka. With the tri- series in doubt, Samarth would get a chance to play in the two unofficial Test matches.