Rachen Ravindra
Age: 25
Nationality: New Zealander
Sport: Cricket
Teams: New Zealand, Chennai Super Kings
The Statistics:
Test:
Matches – 15 | Runs – 1,057 | Wickets – 10 | High Score – 240
ODI:
Matches – 33 | Runs – 1,233 | Wickets – 21 | High Score – 123*
T20Is:
Matches – 26 | Runs – 309 | Wickets – 13 | High Score – 69
IPL:
Matches – 18 | Runs – 413 | Wickets – 0 | High Score – 65*
Beyond the Stats:
Form is temporary, but class is permanent – and Rachin Ravindra has been nothing but class since bursting onto the scene. Back-to-back Junior World Cup appearances showed the Kiwis, and reiterated by the ICC, that they had a rising star on their hands. Ravindra didn't burst onto the scene guns blazing, but rather entered the fray like a silent assassin, waiting for his moment to show the world that change was coming.
New Zealand has always had that guy who shows the world he can hang with the absolute best – from Ross Taylor to Martin Guptill to the current custodian of this honor, Kane Williamson, who remains one of the world's best today. When the opportunity to reassert themselves at the top of world cricket came again in 2023 for New Zealand, they would have been heavily reliant on Williamson, the man who had carried the team and nation on his bat. However, fitness concerns for Williamson meant a major change was in order, and shoes that might have seemed impossible to fill were placed on the feet of young Ravindra – a man who had quietly earned his World Cup spot and was now expected to replicate the feats of one of the Black Caps' greatest.
Fairytales do come true, and just like Cinderella, the shoe fit. The Black Caps found the one who would take them to new heights. With the nation on his back on cricket's grandest stage, the then-23-year-old became the youngest New Zealander to score a World Cup century, breaking multiple records that day. This marked the beginning of one of the biggest breakthroughs New Zealand – and cricket itself – had seen in years. He followed this with the highest maiden Test score by any New Zealander (240*), proving he was more than a one-hit wonder.
By the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, he had become the man to carry his country once more, scoring two centuries and finishing as the tournament's leading run-scorer – deservedly winning Player of the Tournament. His form may fluctuate throughout his career, but make no mistake: this man will forever embody class in how he conducts himself on and off the field. Rachin Ravindra is undeniably the present and future of New Zealand cricket.
