Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke, Jacob Duffy get New Zealand cricket central contracts

Christchurch: Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke and Jacob Duffy have been offered their first New Zealand central contracts for the 2024-25 year with left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel returning to the list.

Ravindra shone at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India, finishing as the competition’s fourth leading run-scorer with 578 runs, before returning home to star in the Test and T20I summer.

His rise was rewarded in January when he was named the ICC Emerging Player of the Year for 2023, and in March when he became the youngest recipient of the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal at the ANZ New Zealand Cricket Awards.

Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel added to the 20-player contract list after missing out during the previous cycle.

Patel, contracted previously in the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons, received his offer ahead of a busy red ball schedule, including upcoming overseas Tests against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and India, and a three match home series against England.

Rachin will be joined by team-mate Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke and Otago’s Jacob Duffy, should they accept their offers, as new faces on a proposed annual International Playing Contract list.

Sears, who played alongside Ravindra at the 2016 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, featured in 11 T20Is for the Blackcaps during the 2023-24 season, claiming 13 wickets at an average of 22.

Meanwhile, O’Rourke’s contract offer came after a 12-month period in which he made his international debut in all three formats. IANS

Also Read: To be able to share a dressing room with someone like MS Dhoni, is insane, says Rachin Ravindra

Also Watch: