Chennai :

After Dipak Patel, Jeetan Patel, Ronnie Hira and Tarun Nethula, there is a new generation of cricketers with sub-continental origins who dream of wearing the black cap for New Zealand. Two of these aspiring youngsters even trace their roots back to Chennai.

Teenagers Rachin Ravindra, Sushant Balajee and Chander Ravi idolize the likes of Sachin Tendulkar  and Rahul Dravid but they dream of playing international cricket for New Zealand.

The trio plays for Hutt Hawks, a Wellington-based cricket club. The Hawks are in India for an exposure trip in collaboration with city-based Cricket Drome and the enthusiastic youngsters are loving every minute of their ‘homecoming’.

All-rounders Sushant and Chander have both represented Wellington at the junior level and have roots in Chennai. “We were born in Chennai and our parents moved to New Zealand when we were very young so it’s always nice to come here and play,” said Sushant.

Sushant was just two when his father, who works for a bank, decided to migrate. Chander’s parents work in the IT industry and he landed in New Zealand as a four-year-old.

Thirteen-year-old Rachin (who was born in New Zealand) is the youngest of the three but by far the most vocal. Ask him what he looks forward to when he comes to India and he sums it up in one word, “Batting!” the left-hander says with a big smile.

“The pitches are completely different and the fast outfields make it even better,” he said.

Rachin’s father Ravi, a level-three coach in New Zealand and fellow Hawks member Neeraj, also a coach (level-two) are the adults of Indian origin guiding the youngsters on this tour.

After experiencing the cricket culture in both countries, they were able to explain how things are different down under, especially for people from the sub-continent.

“I guess the biggest difference apart from things like pitches and conditions is the number of opportunities. The competition is far less than here in India,” Ravi, originally from Bangalore, said.

Neeraj said the amount of cricket played is much lesser too. “On this tour we’ll be playing around 20 games, which are about as many games as you would get in an entire summer back home. This trip is like a season’s worth of cricket.”

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> Cricket / by Shreyas Bhat / TNN / July 24th, 2013