To share the dressing room with someone like MS Dhoni is insane: Rachin Ravindra

CHENNAI: Chennai Super Kings ' new Kiwi star Rachin Ravindra on Friday made a memorable Indian Premier League debut against Royal Challengers Bengaluru by scoring 37 runs (off just 15 balls) at a strike rate of 246.66 and pouching two crucial catches. The 24-year-old, who burst onto the scene following his brilliant batting display for the New Zealand team at the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India, was bought by CSK for Rs 1.80 crore - a steal deal - at the IPL 2024 mini-auction held in Dubai last year.

On Sunday morning, Rachin presented awards to the 19 state representatives from Super Kings Academy and interacted with the trainees of the academy. During a conversation with the students, Rachin spoke about sharing the dressing room with the stalwart MS Dhoni , who recently stepped down as the captain of the five-time IPL champion.

"To be able to share the dressing room with someone like MS is insane. I think we all know what he's achieved, not just for Chennai but also for India, too, and the type of aura he carries and everything. But I think the best thing about him is he is so calm and down to earth like you wouldn't know, he achieved all he has.

"It just shows the type of person he is and he is a great role model for that because no matter what you achieve on the cricket field, you spend most of your time off it. So, he's worked it out pretty well and he's a great leader here in the dressing room," said Rachin.

Rachin further encouraged the children with valuable wisdom. "For me playing cricket's obviously very fun. It's probably the number one thing I'd like to do in life, but I think what's important is that we maintain that perspective. I think we all remember the reason why we first played cricket and that's for me, I enjoy the game. I love cricket, I love batting, I love bowling, I love winning games of cricket, I love helping my teammates out. And for me, that's what's important. And, runs will automatically flow and wickets will fall. But that'll come if you're truly driven by your body, and your heart to enjoy this beautiful game. I hope you guys remember and hope your parents keep encouraging you as well because that's what my mum and dad did so well for me," explained Rachin.

Super Kings Academy honours Chandrasekar & Gokulakrishnan

At the same event, Super Kings Academy paid tribute to the late VB Chandrasekar and DJ Gokulakrishnan by naming special awards after the former Tamil Nadu cricketers. Rachin and CSK CEO KS Viswanathan, along with VB Chandrasekhar and DJ Gokulakrishnan's families, presented the awards to the winners in a special event on Saturday.

The VB Chandrasekhar Super Kings Academy Cricketer of the Year (Boys) award was won by Akshay Sarangdhar, who was part of the Tamil Nadu Under-19 and Under-23 squads. The DJ Gokulakrishnan Super Kings Academy Cricketer of the Year (Girls) award was bagged by G Kamalini, who has played for Tamil Nadu senior team apart from the Under-15, 19 and 23 teams.