Mixture of Sachin Tendulkar + Rahul Tendulkar! NZ star Rachin Ravindra reveals secret behind his name

Rachin Ravindra scored 123* in New Zealand's win over England in World Cup 2023 opening match.

Rachin Ravindra became a trending name in cricketing circles thanks to his dominating century in his ICC World Cup debut match for New Zealand against England. This match was played on October 5 in Ahmedabad and saw the Kiwis demolishing England in their own game.

Tom Latham, captaining the New Zealand side in place of Kane Williamson, won the toss and put in England to bat first in Ahmedabad. Joe Root shined with 77, while Jos Buttler made 43 runs and Jonny Bairstow made 33 and England was restricted to 282/9 in 50 overs.

Then what followed was pure carnage. Though England picked up the wicket of Will Young in the second over with no runs scored, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra tore apart the famed England bowling lineup.

The duo added 283* runs for the second wicket as Conway made 152* with 19 fours and 3 sixes and Ravindra hammered 123* with 11 fours and 5 sixes. New Zealand overhauled the target in 36.2 overs winning by 9 wickets.

This was the first time two World Cup debutants, in Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra had scored centuries in the same match. And while Conway scored more, Ravindra was named the Player of the Match for his ton and one wicket.  

Rachin Ravindra reveals the secret behind his name

Ravindra’s parents were natives of Bengaluru and moved to New Zealand where he was born in Wellington. His parents are huge cricket fans and his dad decided to name his newborn son after two of his favorite Indian players.

“Back in the day when Mum and Dad were deciding on names, they liked Rahul and Sachin. So they took Ra from one and Chin from the other and named me Rachin. Two amazing players and I’m very lucky to be named after them,” Ravindra told ICC.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Star Sports India (@starsportsindia)

Ravindra would later confirm his South Indian roots and said it was nice to have a connection [with Indian roots] when I am around in Bangalore (Bengaluru) to see my grandparents. He said: “I am very proud of my roots and ethnicity [but] I completely see myself as a Kiwi.”