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NEW DELHI: Rising New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra claimed that his father’s passion for cricket was the reason he took to the game instinctively.
Having scored 578 runs in 10 matches at an average of 106.45, including three hundreds and two fifties, Ravindra emerged as one of the major stars of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Rachin stated in an interview with ESPNCricinfo that he picked cricket as a child since his dad played club cricket and the sport was always there in some capacity at home.He remembered using a toy ball to practice with his dad.
“I think so (if he picked cricket because of his father). Dad played club cricket, he watched a lot of cricket, played it on PlayStation as well. It was always on around the house all the time. Naturally, I picked it up. Mum and Dad would always throw me plastic balls. I always wanted to bat or bowl. It accumulated to where I am today. They never forced me to play cricket at all. It happened naturally. I really enjoyed playing cricket with my mates. I enjoyed going to the nets every day, hitting and bowling balls. I guess that’s how it happened,” said Rachin.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Daniel Vettori was his hero growing up, Rachin revealed.
“I tried to model my action around him. He was an unbelievable bowler. The amount of drop he got, his consistency. I definitely love watching him bowl,” said Rachin.
Rachin claimed that while in India for the World Cup, he had the opportunity to catch up with both sides of his family.
“I got to catch up with both sides of my family. My grandparents on my mom’s side, my uncle and aunty. It was nice to connect with them after a little while. It was a little feeling of home in a different country. I get to see them when I do go to India,” said the all-rounder.
Rachin expressed his gratitude to play in the World Cup and said it was cool to see his name among elite cricket players after finishing as the fourth-highest run-maker.
“Honestly though, it is not the complete reason why I play cricket. It is nice but not necessary that I play for personal accolades. You play to push the team forward. Whatever results come as part of the process and journey is a bonus,” added the all-rounder.
Rachin referred to captain Kane Williamson as a good leader during their conversations, highlighting how important his leadership was even while he was sidelined recovering from an injury.
“There was not anything too crazy. Kane is such a good leader. He does what he speaks. He acts what he speaks. Even when he was not playing, his leadership was huge. The message from the team environment was to do your own processes. Trust the process. A lot of the time in cricket, the results can be very up and down. You control what you can control – how you prepare and how you go about it ball after ball. Whatever the result is, you can sit back and say: I gave it my best,” said Rachin.
Mitchell Santner, an all-rounder who bowls spin, has a “unbelievable brain” for cricket, according to Rachin.
“His left-arm spin-bowling knowledge is through the roof. He is a world-class bowler. You see the amount of revs he gets on the ball. The beauty of it all is that he is this calm guy who does not go up or down at all. He goes about his work, bowls the right ball. Makes for a very cool idol to aspire to,” he added.
Rachin said that post-World Cup, his life has not really changed.
“I am still the same. I am Rachin. I enjoy the time with my teammates and family. Hopefully, nothing really changes that. I get a little bit more attention from people. They ask for photos and signatures. I have more presence online, or whatever it is. I think it is bound to happen when you have a few good games,” he added.
The all-rounder said that his dad is pretty proud of his performances in the tournament.
“Like everyone close to me, he was very happy, very proud. Dad seems to keep it very level. He keeps his cards close to his chest. Mum was very happy. You can feel the love and support from everyone. My big friend group watched every game. They talked about it in the group chat, which was really cool. I would read it at the end of the game. It made me feel the love of my good mates, my support from my family. It is special when you are playing a World Cup,” said Rachin.
Rachin stated that “life and cricket have no guarantees” when asked about the likelihood of landing an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract during the auction. At the moment, he is concentrating on the series against Bangladesh.
“Whether it is noise or what is being reported, I think what is important, what matters right now is what series you have in front of you. There’s so much time to the IPL. There is no guarantee that I will get picked up [in the auction]. There are no guarantees in life and cricket. I am just focused on what’s in front of me: the Bangladesh Test series. You stay in the present, you savour those moments. Every moment I get to play for New Zealand, I am very, very grateful,” concluded Rachin.
(With ANI inputs)
Having scored 578 runs in 10 matches at an average of 106.45, including three hundreds and two fifties, Ravindra emerged as one of the major stars of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Rachin stated in an interview with ESPNCricinfo that he picked cricket as a child since his dad played club cricket and the sport was always there in some capacity at home.He remembered using a toy ball to practice with his dad.
“I think so (if he picked cricket because of his father). Dad played club cricket, he watched a lot of cricket, played it on PlayStation as well. It was always on around the house all the time. Naturally, I picked it up. Mum and Dad would always throw me plastic balls. I always wanted to bat or bowl. It accumulated to where I am today. They never forced me to play cricket at all. It happened naturally. I really enjoyed playing cricket with my mates. I enjoyed going to the nets every day, hitting and bowling balls. I guess that’s how it happened,” said Rachin.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Daniel Vettori was his hero growing up, Rachin revealed.
“I tried to model my action around him. He was an unbelievable bowler. The amount of drop he got, his consistency. I definitely love watching him bowl,” said Rachin.
Rachin claimed that while in India for the World Cup, he had the opportunity to catch up with both sides of his family.
“I got to catch up with both sides of my family. My grandparents on my mom’s side, my uncle and aunty. It was nice to connect with them after a little while. It was a little feeling of home in a different country. I get to see them when I do go to India,” said the all-rounder.
Rachin expressed his gratitude to play in the World Cup and said it was cool to see his name among elite cricket players after finishing as the fourth-highest run-maker.
“Honestly though, it is not the complete reason why I play cricket. It is nice but not necessary that I play for personal accolades. You play to push the team forward. Whatever results come as part of the process and journey is a bonus,” added the all-rounder.
Rachin referred to captain Kane Williamson as a good leader during their conversations, highlighting how important his leadership was even while he was sidelined recovering from an injury.
“There was not anything too crazy. Kane is such a good leader. He does what he speaks. He acts what he speaks. Even when he was not playing, his leadership was huge. The message from the team environment was to do your own processes. Trust the process. A lot of the time in cricket, the results can be very up and down. You control what you can control – how you prepare and how you go about it ball after ball. Whatever the result is, you can sit back and say: I gave it my best,” said Rachin.
Mitchell Santner, an all-rounder who bowls spin, has a “unbelievable brain” for cricket, according to Rachin.
“His left-arm spin-bowling knowledge is through the roof. He is a world-class bowler. You see the amount of revs he gets on the ball. The beauty of it all is that he is this calm guy who does not go up or down at all. He goes about his work, bowls the right ball. Makes for a very cool idol to aspire to,” he added.
Rachin said that post-World Cup, his life has not really changed.
“I am still the same. I am Rachin. I enjoy the time with my teammates and family. Hopefully, nothing really changes that. I get a little bit more attention from people. They ask for photos and signatures. I have more presence online, or whatever it is. I think it is bound to happen when you have a few good games,” he added.
The all-rounder said that his dad is pretty proud of his performances in the tournament.
“Like everyone close to me, he was very happy, very proud. Dad seems to keep it very level. He keeps his cards close to his chest. Mum was very happy. You can feel the love and support from everyone. My big friend group watched every game. They talked about it in the group chat, which was really cool. I would read it at the end of the game. It made me feel the love of my good mates, my support from my family. It is special when you are playing a World Cup,” said Rachin.
Rachin stated that “life and cricket have no guarantees” when asked about the likelihood of landing an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract during the auction. At the moment, he is concentrating on the series against Bangladesh.
“Whether it is noise or what is being reported, I think what is important, what matters right now is what series you have in front of you. There’s so much time to the IPL. There is no guarantee that I will get picked up [in the auction]. There are no guarantees in life and cricket. I am just focused on what’s in front of me: the Bangladesh Test series. You stay in the present, you savour those moments. Every moment I get to play for New Zealand, I am very, very grateful,” concluded Rachin.
(With ANI inputs)
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