Meet Rachin Ravindra, the New Zealand Cricketer With a Unique Indian Connect

Ravindra was also part of the NZ squad that took on India in the WTC final but did not make it to playing xi

Rachin Ravindra was named after Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

Image: Black Caps

As India take on New Zealand in the first Test in Kanpur, the visitors have handed young Rachin Ravindra a debut in the longest format.

Not long ago, most cricket fans, in India at least, were curious about the left handed batter and spinner who was part of the recently concluded T20I series as well. While the visitors did not have the best outing in the T20s, they will be hoping the longer format brings them more joy.

The 22-year-old, who celebrates his birthday on 18 November, is a left-hand bat and left arm spinner. He’s played 6 T20Is so far and hails from New Zealand's capital city of Wellington and was born to Indian parents Ravi Krishnamurthy and Deepa Krishnamurthy.

Named after two of India’s greatest cricketers, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, he’s been part of New Zealand’s U-19 World Cup team in 2016 and played against Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar.

Against India, in Jaipur, however he could not get going and was bowled for 7 by Mohammed Siraj, much to the delight of Indian fans.

He made his international debut against Bangladesh earlier in the year. NZ lost the 5-match series 2-3 in Bangladesh. Ravindra was also part of the NZ squad that took on India in the World Test Championship final but did not make it to playing xi in June.

He made his List A debut against Pakistan and it was in November 2020, he was named in the New Zealand A cricket team for practice matches.

Stints in India

While his parents moved to NZ in the early 1990s, well before Rachin was born and Sachin and Dravid became icons, Ravindra has made regular trips to India for cricket.

“I’ve trained, played at RDT (Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh) every year in the last four years during our winter,” he had told Telangana Today.

“My batting idol is Sachin Tendulkar. I have modelled my game on him since I was very young,” Rachin had told Stuff.co.nz

One of the coaches at the Andhra Pradesh cricket academy, Khatib Syed Shahabuddin, has also spoken highly of the young cricketer, according to a report.

“He (Rachin Ravindra) was part of the Hutt Hawks contingent that used to train at the Rural Development Trust at Anantapur for the last four years. He is a promising cricketer. As a young cricketer, he showed a lot of promise and hunger to excel as a left-handed bat and left-arm spin.”

One of the major drivers behind his regular trips to India has been his father, who is the founder Hutt Hawks Club in New Zealand. Ravi, who takes played the sport in Bengaluru has been organizing exchange programmes and taking bringing young cricketers from NZ to India every summer, and to other countries for games regularly.

“They should be exposed to various types of wickets and conditions,” he had told The Hindu.

Among the cricketers to have been part of these tours are the likes of James Neesham and Tom Blundell.

(With Inputs from Indian Express and The Hindu)