Young New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra, on Thursday (November 18), said that he was clueless if his name had any connection with two of India's legends, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar and that he had even never asked his parents about his name.
However, Ravindra hopes to pick the brains of the new Team India head coach, Dravid, during the ongoing three-match T20I series between India and New Zealand. The second T20I will be played in Ranchi on Friday.
He celebrated his 22nd birthday on Thursday. He was born to Indian parents, Ravi Krishnamurthy and Deepa Krishnamurthy, who moved to Wellington, New Zealand from Bangalore in the early 1990s.
Rachin said during a virtual media conference about his name: “Honestly, I'm not too sure. I've never really asked mom and dad where the name has come from... I guess you'd have to ask them.”
The left-arm spinner made his New Zealand debut in the 2016 U-19 World Cup and also played in the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup, wherein he first met Dravid and said it was an awesome interaction and he would like to have more conversation with the India head coach during the ongoing T20I series.
Rachin stated: “Yeah, Dravid is an absolute legend in the game and I played a bit of cricket against him when he was coaching in India A and a few series a couple of years ago when he came to New Zealand.
He was coaching those guys and the India U-19 team. So it's just awesome to interact with them a little bit. Obviously, I'd love to interact a little bit more during this series, but he's an absolute legend in the game. So if I can pick his brains it would be amazing.”
The all-rounder played in the first T20I in Jaipur – his first appearance in India and described it as a pretty surreal experience. He added, “All sorts of nations always want to get a chance to play in India and I think it's been a pretty surreal experience so far. This T20 is very special.”
Rachin was also highly impressed with veteran Indian off-spinner R Ashwin and said he is very special to him.
He signed off by saying, “They've been doing it for a really long time. They're world-class spinners especially Ashwin he's got an incredible record and he's been around for a long time and the variations are incredible. Personally, I have not been in touch and would love to pick his brains any time.”
(With PTI Inputs)
