Rachin Ravindra Leaves KKR Camp Ahead of England Test Tour

Rachin Ravindra has officially left the Kolkata Knight Riders camp to begin preparations for New Zealand’s upcoming Test series against England Cricket Team.

The 26-year-old allrounder will return to New Zealand to focus on red-ball cricket before the squad departs for the United Kingdom. The first Test of the series is scheduled to begin at Lord's Cricket Ground on June 4.

KKR confirmed Ravindra’s departure on Friday, bringing an early end to his IPL 2026 stint. Ravindra had been picked up by the franchise for his base price of INR 2 crore (approximately US$208,450) during the IPL 2026 auction. However, he did not feature in a single match throughout the season.

Despite his reputation as one of New Zealand’s premier allrounders, Ravindra struggled to break into a KKR playing XI packed with established Indian batters and overseas stars, including Cameron Green in the middle order.

Ravindra heads into the England tour in excellent red-ball form. A regular in New Zealand’s middle order, he enjoyed a productive run in recent Test assignments. In August 2025, he smashed an unbeaten 165 against Zimbabwe before following it up with a commanding 176 in Christchurch against the West Indies. He also registered unbeaten scores of 72 and 46 in Mount Maunganui during the same series.

The England series will mark New Zealand’s second assignment in the 2025–27 ICC World Test Championship cycle. The three-match series will be played at Lord’s (June 4–8), The Oval (June 17–21), and Nottingham (June 25–29).

Before arriving in England, New Zealand are set to play a four-day warm-up Test against Ireland Cricket Team in Belfast starting May 27.

New Zealand currently sit second on the World Test Championship points table, having recorded two wins and a draw so far in the cycle. The Black Caps will also be eager to improve on their last Test tour of England in 2022, where they suffered a 0-3 series defeat against the hosts.