Rachin Ravindra

Rachin Ravindra (born 18 November 1999) is a New Zealand international cricketer. He plays for Wellington in domestic cricket and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

Early life

Rachin Ravindra was born in Wellington on 18 November 1999 to parents from Bangalore, Karnataka. His father Ravi Krishnamurthy, a software architect, played club-level cricket in Bangalore before settling in New Zealand in 1997. Rachin Ravindra's first name was reported to be a portmanteau of the first names of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, but his father, while acknowledging the portmanteau, dismissed it as coincidence. His grandfather Balakrishna Adiga is an educationist and former principal of Vijaya College, Bengaluru. Ravindra began his cricket journey after being influenced by Sachin Tendulkar since childhood.

Rachin Ravindra began playing cricket in Wellington at the age of five, and travelled to India every year to play club cricket for Hutt Hawks Cricket Club, run by his father. He grew up playing junior cricket for Hutt District cricket.

Career

Rachin was a part of New Zealand's squads for the 2016 and the 2018 Under-19 World Cups. Following the conclusion of the 2018 edition, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Rachin Ravindra as one of the rising stars of the competition. In June 2018, he was awarded a contract with Wellington for the 2018–19 season.

Rachin made his List A debut for New Zealand A against Pakistan A in October 2018. He made his first-class debut for New Zealand A against the same team later in the month. In November 2019, batting for Wellington against Auckland in the 2019–20 Ford Trophy, he scored his first century in List A cricket. In March 2020, in round six of the 2019–20 Plunket Shield season, he scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.