'A great little refresh' - Ravindra on leaving IPL early and spending time in NZ before UK tour

Despite spending the IPL on the bench, Ravindra is confident about hitting the ground running in the UK

Leaving IPL 2026 early gave Rachin Ravindra a chance to spend some rare time at home in New Zealand and refresh before the upcoming Test tours to Ireland and England.

"I mean KKR were very welcoming and understanding of the situation," Ravindra said before departing for Ireland. "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.

"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."

Despite spending the IPL season on the bench at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Ravindra is confident about hitting the ground running 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," Ravindra said. "But to be honest, I don't really feel too out of match practice. I think it was a very, very hectic schedule beforehand.

"But yeah, I think part of the reason being able to come home for five days or so and do a little bit of training and prepare for what's to come because we know Test cricket is super important, especially a series in Ireland and England. So I just wanted to give myself the best chance. I was down in Christchurch for a day and had a couple of training sessions down there. I had some nice grass facilities."RelatedJamieson, O'Rourke return to NZ Test squad for Ireland, England tours

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Ravindra suggested that being at the IPL aided his red-ball prep as well. "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.

"The coach [Abhishek Nayar] used to be the assistant batting coach for India. You got Shane Watson, who is our batting coach, who has played England a lot, coached a lot of guys who have played England. So it's sort of, it's more than just the T20 as well. Being able to sit down and talk to Virat [Kohli] about batting or talking to KL Rahul - all these guys who've done well and had success over periods of time."Rachin Ravindra is set to play his first Test at Lord's•ICC/Getty Images

New Zealand have packed their side with pace and are set to unleash their two tall quicks Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke on England. Ravindra was enthused about the strength and depth of New Zealand's pace attack.

"I think we had a few injuries last summer and super excited to have those boys back," Ravindra said. "Obviously, Matt Henry, who missed the last couple of Tests, Blair Tickner, who is bowling so well, and the big man Will O'Rourke. Nathan Smith coming back, Ben Sears is fit, we've got a serious pace battery, which I'm excited to face at the nets.

"I remember Will O'Rourke the way he was bowling in his last Test series in Zimbabwe actually and the way he was bowling against England at home was fantastic. So, looking forward to see him on the park again. Truly exciting times for New Zealand cricket and we've got so much depth."

New Zealand, though, have not picked a specialist spinner in their Test squad for the UK tour. Ravindra is happy to pitch in with his left-arm fingerspin and pair up with Glenn Phillips' right-arm offspin. In New Zealand's run to the 2026 T20 World Cup final, Ravindra was their highest wicket-taker with 12 strikes in seven innings at an economy rate of 7.84.

"Always interested with my bowling," Ravindra said. "Sometimes, it tends to take a back seat, but definitely trying to do a little more of that. Had some opportunities at the T20 World Cup, which was cool. On some occasional sporting wickets, it was nice to get some overs in, but Test cricket is a different beast. With the different ball, have to be a bit more consistent. I'll work on that with GP when I can."

Before facing England in three Tests, New Zealand will meet Ireland in a one-off, four-day Test against Ireland from May 27 to May 30. The Test is not part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle and Ireland have some key players to injuries, but Ravindra is not taking them lightly.

"I mean, Ireland [are] obviously a Test-playing nation," Ravindra said. "They have quality cricketers and I'm not too sure what the pitch conditions will be like, but obviously it's a great lead-in to the England Test series, but you can't necessarily take any team lightly as you've seen in world events of late."