Rachin Ravindra named ICC Men's Emerging Cricketer of the Year
New Zealand's rising sensation Rachin Ravindra has been named ICC Men's Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2023. Ravindra, who had a defining ICC World Cup 2023 campaign in India, beat South Africa quick Gerald Coetzee, Sri Lanka pacer Dilshan Madushanka and India batter Yashasvi Jaiswal for the prized award. Ravindra will also be seen in the 2024 Indian Premier League.
820 ODI runs in 2023
Ravindra made his ODI debut in March 2023 versus Sri Lanka. He played 25 matches, scoring 820 ODI runs at 41. His strike rate is a decent 108.03. With the ball, he has scalped 18 wickets at 46.61. His economy rate is 6.02. Meanwhile, he scored 91 T20I runs at 18.20, besides managing 5 wickets at 32.80 (ER: 9.11).
A defining World Cup campaign
Ravindra smashed a whopping 578 runs for NZ in the ICC ODI World Cup at 64.22. It was the highest tally for a New Zealand player at the tournament, with only Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock bettering him.
It's obviously a very special feeling, says Ravindra
"It's obviously a very special feeling," Ravindra said when accepting the award. "Whenever you get recognised by the ICC for something it is always special. Reflecting back it has been a pretty whirlwind last year and having the opportunity to play so much cricket in so many different environments has been very special," he added.
Ravindra to play for CSK in IPL 2024
In December 2023, Ravindra was picked up by Chennai Super Kings for Rs. 1.80 crore. Ravindra, who has bagged his maiden IPL contract, owns 603 runs from 54 T20s at an average of 15.46. The tally includes a strike rate of 122.31. Ravindra has just one half-century in the shortest format. Ravindra will hope to relaunch his career in 20 over cricket.
A generational talent
At 23 years and 321 days, Ravindra became the youngest NZ player to score a century in the ODI World Cup. He broke the record of former batter Nathan Astle (24Y and 152D). He smashed the most runs by a batter in their maiden WC edition. Ravindra also broke Sachin Tendulkar's record for scoring the most runs in a WC before turning 25.
