Rachin Ravindra

Born to Indian parents in Wellington, Rachin Ravindra is an attacking left-hand batter who can also bowl some quality left-arm spin. Thanks to his all-round skills, he was identified as a special talent in the domestic circuit and got ample opportunities with the U-19 and New Zealand A side, before making bigger and better strides. With a healthy strike rate of around 100 in the shorter formats, Rachin usually plays at the top of the order for Wellington and is known for his attacking channels with the ball.

His consistency in the domestic circuit helped him earn an international debut for New Zealand (against Bangladesh in a T20I in September 2021), and it didn't take long for the Southpaw to make his Test debut as well (against India in November 2021). Interestingly, Rachin's father, Ravi Krishnamurthy, is a huge fan of the legendary Indian duo Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid and thus, named his son Rachin (By taking 'Ra' from Rahul Dravid and 'chin' from Sachin Tendulkar).

2023 was the coming of age year for Rachin Ravindra. He was initially not even in contention for the World Cup, but an injury to Micheal Bracewell paved the way for him. Ravindra looked at ease playing in the sub continent, using his feet nicely to tackle spin bowling. He was a revelation at the World Cup, starting off with a century against England in the tournament opener. Ravindra scored 578 runs in the World Cup and won the ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year award.

Ravindra’s World Cup performances made him a mainstay for New Zealand across formats, as he was picked primarily as a top order batter who can occasionally bowl some spin. He scored a century at home against South Africa in 2024, and later in that year scored a sensational century against India in Bangalore which helped the Kiwis win the Test and later the series.

Ravindra was on song in the 2025 Champions Trophy as well. After suffering a seemingly ghastly head injury in the build-up to the tournament, Ravindra missed the opening game. He was back in the side for the next game against Bangladesh, batting at number 4 in place of Daryl Mitchell. Ravindra marked his Champions Trophy debut with a match winning ton against Bangladesh, and followed that up with a century against South Africa as well in the semis. He was the player of the tournament in the 2025 Champions Trophy, where New Zealand reached the finals.

Ravindra was initially picked by Punjab Kings at the IPL Auctions, but CSK used their RTM option to get him back to Anbuden for IPL 2025.

With age on side, one would expect Rachin to make huge strides in international cricket given his multifaceted skills across formats.