“Pretty surreal, I am fortunate to be here”: Rachin Ravindra describes his cricketing journey

Sylhet [Bangladesh]: New Zealand’s rising youngster Rachin Ravindra described his two-year journey as a cricketer “surreal” ahead of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh. 
Ravindra established himself as one of the biggest future prospects in the world of cricket with his remarkable performances in the recently concluded ODI World Cup. He amassed 578 runs in 10 innings with a batting average of 64.22. 

Ahead of New Zealand’s red-ball encounter against Bangladesh at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on November 28, Ravindra reflected on his journey and told ESPNcricinfo, “Pretty surreal. Things have happened quite quickly, and I am very fortunate to be here right now.At my age, being able to travel around the world playing cricket, playing a game you love, for a living is pretty special. [It] definitely has its ups and downs, but mostly I love every single moment.” 

“Look, I think it’s a testament to the team environment: to be able to come in and play with freedom, and enjoy my time learning from those guys who have been here for so long. It’s been great to rub shoulders with everyone, and hopefully I can keep learning from them,” Ravindra added. 

Ravindra showcased his potential with the bat in the white ball cricket but now a different challenge awaits him. Ravindra has just played three Tests in international cricket. Two of them came in his debut series, in India in late 2021, and one against Bangladesh in Mount Maunganui in early 2022 which ended in a famous Bangladesh win. 

Unlike his numbers on ODI, Ravindra’s tally doesn’t speak too much of his potential in the format. He has scored just 73 runs from six innings. But the young left-handed batter is still looking forward to playing red-ball cricket and talked about the approach that he is going to take against the Tigers. 

“I enjoy going back to red-ball cricket after that (ODIs) because that means your intent… you are almost looking to score, so, I mean, [it] keeps you in a good position to score. But probably here [in Bangladesh] it depends on the conditions, what the pitch is doing, it’s probably going to dial that back a little bit, not as many risks. You can still play your natural game, by understanding the surface and the situation of the game dictates you,” Ravindra said. 

“I think we sometimes don’t understand how long a Test match really is – you have five days of 90 overs each day, so there’s a lot of time here, so hopefully we can bring that calmness in the group from the one-dayers to the red-ball stuff. I really loved my first experience of Test cricket a couple of years ago, and [I am] really excited to see how my game has evolved,” he added. 

New Zealand Test Squad: Tim Southee (c), Kane Williamson, Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Will Young.