Rachin Ravindra left the Kolkata Knight Riders camp to join the New Zealand squad for the upcoming Test assignment against Ireland and England later in June. Notably, the all-rounder didn’t feature in any matches for KKR in IPL 2026, which eventually opened the door to an early departure rather than remaining with the franchise until the end of the tournament. He travelled back to New Zealand to recharge before joining the national squad.
"I mean KKR were very welcoming and understanding of the situation. Obviously, the way it was going, I wasn't playing. The decision was spoken to the CEO and the coach about potentially coming home for a refresh and obviously not knowing I'd be home until... Well, I wouldn't be home until late August because of what's to come,” Ravindra told ESPNcricinfo before departing for Ireland.
"So, really awesome from them to be able to say, go home, refresh, do a bit of training and what you need before joining the boys in Ireland. Because there was always going to be a little bit of an overlap. It made it easier since I wasn't playing. It's a great little refresh. We spend so much time away from home and even four or five days at home, which I've had, is fantastic,” he added.
Ravindra aims to be mentally fit before long away tour
Ravindra believes the brief stop in New Zealand has helped him prepare mentally and physically for a demanding stretch of red-ball cricket in the UK.
"I haven't played a game in a little while, and sort of obviously running the drinks in the IPL and getting opportunities to train and talk to guys has been great. But to be honest, I don't really feel too out of match practice. I think it was a very, very hectic schedule beforehand,” Ravindra said.
The left-hander also pointed to the value of conversations inside the KKR setup, particularly with experienced international cricketers and coaches.
"There's benefits to playing cricket and training. There's also massive benefits being in the IPL too. I mean, you get to talk to someone like Ajinkya Rahane, who's a lovely man who's played so much cricket overseas, scored a hundred at Lord's and played so much cricket against England and Australia away,” Ravindra added.
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