Rachin Ravindra

A dynamic batter, who can slot in at the top as well as in the middle order, and bowl left-arm fingerspin, Rachin Ravindra was earmarked to become a future batting leader for New Zealand right from his Under-19 days.

After featuring in two Under-19 World Cups for New Zealand, Ravindra made a seamless transition into international cricket. He broke into the New Zealand senior team in 2021 and on his Test debut against a spin-heavy India attack that included R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, he played out 91 balls in the final innings to help New Zealand salvage a draw in Kanpur.

Ravindra then shot to global prominence two years later at the 2023 ODI World Cup, also in India, where he was New Zealand's highest run-getter and fourth highest overall, with 578 runs in ten innings at an average of 64.22 and strike rate of 106.44. He drew level with Kane Williamson as New Zealand's top scorer in a single edition of a men's ODI World Cup and was particularly strong against spin.

Ravindra had honed his game against spin, thanks to a number of trips to India with the Wellington-based Hutt Hawks club, run by his father Ravi Krishnamurthy, who played a decent level of cricket in his hometown Bengaluru before he settled down in New Zealand. A cricket nut, Ravindra would even have early-morning training sessions with his father during the New Zealand winters.

Having forged strong partnerships with his good friend Devon Conway at Wellington and New Zealand, Ravindra replaced him at the top in his maiden IPL stint with Chennai Super Kings after Conway was sidelined from the 2024 season with injury. Ravindra made an immediate impact at CSK, hitting 37 off 15 balls on his IPL debut against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chepauk in March 2024. Later in July, he earned his first New Zealand central contract and also won the Major League Cricket (MLC) competition, under Ricky Ponting, at Washington Freedom.

Rachin Ravindra IPL factfile

- After his bumper success at the 2023 ODI World Cup, Ravindra was picked by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for INR 1.8 crore.

- He was not expected to start but an injury to Devon Conway opened the door for him.

- In his very first game in IPL 2024, Ravindra scored 37 off just 15 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and followed it up with a 20-ball 46 against Gujarat Titans in the next game. His form fell away after that and he finished the 2024 season with 222 runs at an average of 22.20 and strike rate of 160.87.