27-year-old cricketer Jeet Raval, originally from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, has been selected for New Zealand’s 16-man squad for the tour of Africa.
Raval is a left hander and was picked ahead of Hamish Rutherford as the back-up opener for Tom Latham and Martin Guptill, after scoring 780 runs at 55.71 in the 2015-16 Plunket Shield, New Zealand's first-class competition. He made 202 not out, 139, 90 and 147 in his last four matches.
Jeet’s wife and parents were thrilled after Jeet received a call from national selector Gavin Larsen last month, conveying that he had been picked for the tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe, StuffNZ reported.
"My parents were stoked. They made a lot of sacrifices and moved to New Zealand when I was 16, stopped their careers in India and said 'we want to give our children a good opportunity to grow their careers'."
Raval told the local media that he hated it when he arrived. "It was a massive cultural change. I couldn't speak English very well; still can't," he said with a laugh.
Criclife reports that Raval and Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel went to the same school in Ahmedabad and they both were opening batsmen for their school team.
The Black Caps who are in Pretoria, South Africa for a week-long camp will head to Harare, Zimbabwe for their first test on July 28th.
