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Rachin Ravindra, who was signed by CSK in the IPL 2024 auction, trained at the CSK Academy in September to get acclimatised to Indian conditions.
Rachin Ravindra training at CSK Academy. (Picture Credit: Instagram)
Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa has slammed his former IPL team Chennai Super Kings for allowing New Zealand batter Rachin Ravindra to train at their academy ahead of the three-match Test series against India. According to Uthappa, CSK looks after its players, but a line has to be drawn where the interest of the country should come ahead of franchise players.
Speaking on a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Uthappa said, “Rachin Ravindra came here and practiced at the CSK Academy. CSK is a beautiful franchise that will always look after its franchise players, but a line has to be drawn where the interest of the country comes ahead of your franchise players, especially when he is a foreign player and comes and plays against our country.”
Rachin trained at CSK Academy ahead of New Zealand’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in September 2024. While he didn’t get a chance to play against Afghanistan, the preparation helped him during the three-match Test series against India. The 24-year-old left-handed batter, who joined the Chennai-based franchise in the IPL 2024 auction, scored a century in the first inning of the first Test played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from October 16 to 20 and remained unbeaten on 39 runs in the second.
“I am not surprised that CSK always go over and above for their players, but somewhere in that kindness, maybe I am not saying the right thing; I absolutely love CSK, but when it comes to the country, there should be a line somewhere where we do not cross that line,” he added.
Ravindra batted at No. 4 for the Black Caps in all three Tests against India and played a big role in New Zealand’s first-ever Test series win in India. The Kiwis won the series opener in Bengaluru by 8 wickets and defeated India by 113 runs and 26 runs in the next two matches played at MCA Stadium in Pune and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, respectively.
The historic first-ever Test series win in India has also boosted Kiwis hopes of qualifying for the WTC 2025 final at Lord’s next year.
