NZ star Rachin Ravindra expresses surprise at inclusion in IPL auction

New Zealand’s rising, young batter Rachin Ravindra described the moment when his name appeared during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction as ‘strange’.
During the mini-auction on Tuesday in Dubai, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings went after the youngster right off the bat.
However, the defending champions got the services of the all-rounder for Rs 1.8 crore.
“It was a strange feeling, but it was nice to have a couple of boys around me. It’s really exciting you grow up watching IPL, always weird to see yourself on TV with paddles going up,” Rachin said as quoted saying to New Zealand Cricket.
Rachin’s teammate Daryl Mitchell was also signed by five-time champions, CSK, for a whooping sum of Rs 14 crore.
The 24-year-old expressed his happiness for his compatriot and said, “Watching Daryl’s auction was special I am so happy for him.”
Mitchell also expressed his eagerness to share the same dressing room with Rachin and Santner and said, “I grew up with Mitch (Santner) since we were about 12 years old. And now, with Dev and Rachin in the team as well, it is going to be good fun. And again, a lot of the Indian players – the cool thing about the IPL is that you get to rub shoulders with some world-class players, so really looking forward to that.”
Mitchell is an established member of the Kiwi batting line-up across all formats, having played 20 Tests, 39 ODIs and 56 T20Is. In the last season of the IPL, the Kiwi opener did not take part in the tournament.
His last season was in 2022 with Rajasthan Royals (RR). He played only