Old Boy Rachin Ravindra has earned his maiden call-up to the Black Caps

Wellington Firebirds 21-year-old all-rounder Rachin Ravindra ( Class of 2017) has earned his maiden call-up to the BLACKCAPS Test squad for the upcoming tour of England.

Ravindra joins fellow Firebirds Tom Blundell and the in-form Devon Conway in a 20-strong touring party named to face England in two Tests, with the first at Lord’s in London starting on June 2, and the second at Edgbaston in Birmingham from June 10th.

The squad will then be trimmed to 15 for the ICC World Test Championship Final at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton starting on June 18, as per ICC regulations. If selected to play, Ravindra would be the youngest BLACKCAPS Test player since Ish Sodhi, who debuted at 20 against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2013.

In this, his third and most successful professional season, the left-hander notched twin hundreds for New Zealand 'A' against the touring West Indies and recently returned from a dislocated shoulder to record his first Plunket Shield century, followed by six wickets a week later in the Firebirds final round clash against the Auckland Aces.

BLACKCAPS coach Gary Stead said the pair richly deserved their Test call-ups.

“We’re absolutely delighted for Rachin and Jacob, I’ve seen first-hand how hard these guys have worked in our NZC winter training squads and with New Zealand A, and so for them to earn their maiden Test call-ups for such a special tour will be really satisfying. Rachin’s been earmarked as a star of the future since his Under-19 days and we’ve been really encouraged by the advancement in his game this season, with both bat and ball. He’s obviously an opening option, but also has the ability to bat in the middle order which combined with his left-arm finger spin, makes him a great asset to our squad.

Excerpt from: https://www.cricketwellington.co.nz/newsarticle