Jeet Raval once dreamt of playing at the highest level for his own country India before his parents shifted to New Zealand when he was just 16. And now, when he looks back, the 30-year-old Kiwi opening batsman realises that things could well have been very different as in his home city Ahmedabad itself there remains a very tough competition to jump up the ladder. Raval might never have reached where he is right now - among the blessed few who can proudly say they are Test cricketers.

"Cricket is kind of religion in India," he was quoted saying by stuff.co.nz. "When I was about four or five I started playing in the streets of India. You just played with your cousins and your friends and your neighbours. We grew up playing cricket almost 24/7."

"It was just going outside and have a bit of fun with your mates you know, we love the sport so much because it was so big in India."

"I grew up loving it so much, I grew up with my dad who saw the potential in me and thought I had some talent we could nurture." 

Jeet's father Ashok Raval actually introduced his son to professional coaching at the age of just 12 and that's when this young hopeful developed a very passionate liking for the great sport. 

"There is so much passion there, cricket has always been in my blood," he added. "Anyone who makes the Indian cricket team, they have to work extremely hard because there are tens and thousands of cricketers who want to be in their shoes."

"So to get to that level they have to have that commitment the determination, the sheer resilience to rise above the rest and not give in at any stage. If someone scores 100, you have to score 200, if someone scores 200, you have to score 300. There are at least 10 Virat Kohlis in India, but we don't know it, they just haven't made it to the top."

It is in 2004 when Jeet's parents travelled to New Zealand for better work and educational opportunities which their wards, including the younger daughter Krupa, needed. And the rest, as they say, is history. 

Since making his debut against Pakistan in November 2016, Jeet Raval has scored 1,034 as an opener at a fine average of 38.29 from 17 Tests. There were only seven half-centuries in his kitty before just recently, the left-handed batsman scripted his maiden ton versus Bangladesh in Hamilton.