New Delhi, May 15 (IANS) New Zealand cricketer Rachin Ravindra has left the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 midway and returned home to prepare for the upcoming tour of England, his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) confirmed on Friday.

In an official update, KKR said Ravindra has left the squad to focus on red-ball commitments with the New Zealand national team.

“Rachin Ravindra has returned home to begin his red-ball preparations for New Zealand’s upcoming Test tour to England,” the franchise stated.

In a post shared on Instagram, KKR shared a video featuring Rachin shaking hands and sharing hugs with his teammates before leaving. ”Best wishes from the Knights as Rachin heads home to prepare for national duty,” reads the captain of the post.

Former CSK player, Rachin, was purchased by KKR at his base price of INR 2 crore at the IPL 2026 auction held last year. However, the New Zealand batter did not get any opportunity to play a single match in the ongoing season as KKR went with Cameron Green in the middle order, a position in which Ravindra bats.

KKR’s journey has been full of ups and downs in the IPL 2026. They started off without a single win in the first six matches. The three-time champions, however, turned the tables after that as they won four consecutive matches. Their winning spree was finally halted by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their last match.

After the defeat, KKR are currently placed at eighth position in the points table with 9 points in 11 matches. KKR currently remains at the edge in the playoff race. Ajinkya Rahane’s side will need to win all their remaining matches to reach 15 points, following which the net run rate and other teams’ performance will decide their fate.

Meanwhile, Rachin is expected to play a big role when New Zealand clash with England in the three-match test series, which will commence on June 4.

–IANS

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