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Rachin Ravindra's early grit: From childhood setbacks to unwavering dedication in Wellington

Rachin Ravindra is one of the most extraordinary finds for the New Zealand cricket team in this edition of the World Cup.

By Soumya | Nov 15, 2023 | 3 Min Read

ICC Cricket World Cup has always provided golden opportunities for youngsters to shine at the biggest and grandest stage of cricket. Everyone remembers the 2011 World Cup which heralded the marvellous announcement of Wahab Riyaz. Now, after more than a decade another New Zealander, Rachin Ravindra is creating ripples in the cricketing world. Cricket has always been an integral part of Rachin’s family’s daily life. They have been passionate followers of sports, and this love for cricket naturally extended to Rachin. The father, a Level 3 coach in New Zealand, started coaching Rachin from a young age. It was a seamless fit as both shared a similar interest in the game.

Interestingly, when Rachin Ravindra was 8 or 9, he was hit by the ball during a net session in Wellington. He had to be immediately carried to a hospital. Next thing, one heard he was back at the nets to resume his training. “He came back after he was cleared of any serious damage,” says father Ravi Krishnamurthy. Naturally, Rachin has shown tremendous grit from an early age. For a boy of such a tender age, being committed to his passion is no easy feat.

The gritty career of Ravindra

As part of the cricket training programme for the Hutt Hawks Club Krishnamurthy carried out over 25 tours to India. Rachin, of course, joined him on all these tours which earned him massive experience. During one of the tours, Rachin watched Sachin Tendulkar score a double century. Naturally, it had an impact on his career, similar to the triple century by Brendon McCullum at home in New Zealand against India. Krishnamurthy reveals that Rachin has also seen the likes of Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Brian Lara, and Kumar Sangakkara over the years. No wonder he has looked like a complete batter in the World Cup. For the record, Rachin had been topping the batting charts of the World Cup for a long time and is currently among the top 3 with 565 runs.

Even Kane Williamson could not stop lauding the 23-year-old who adapted to the new role of opening with aplomb. “Yeah, quite incredible really,” the New Zealand skipper said of the youngster. “I’m sure we’ll see plenty more of it to come. (He) burst onto the scene and in a big way in a role that perhaps wasn’t sort of natural, maybe, within our environment. But to do what he’s done so far in this tournament with his feet firmly on the ground has been special, and as we’ve all seen. It’s not just the volume of runs that he’s achieved so far but how he’s been scoring them and how it’s been geared towards trying to move the team forward,” the New Zealand skipper said. Moreover, Rachin now needs just 14 runs to surpass Williamson’s tally of 578 runs at the 2019 World Cup.

Rachin has met both Sachin and Dravid and has shown glimpses of both the greats. The meeting with Sachin happened during India’s visit to New Zealand in 2008-09. So when Rachin would go out to bat in Mumbai the bulk of batting responsibility will be on the shoulder of the 23-years-old. However, given the terrific performance that he has shown it is very unlikely that the youngster will bog down by pressure.