IPL 2025: Rachin Ravindra nails spin woes to become CSK’s star opener

But something unusual happened mid-way through the tournament. For a team that is known to give long ropes even for overseas players, they dropped Rachin mid-way through the season before he made a comeback towards the end of the season. “Last season probably didn’t go as well as I would have wanted at the end,” Rachin admitted.

After spending a couple of months at home after the tournament, Rachin returned to Chennai last September where apart from focussing on his red-ball game for the series in Sri Lanka and India, he also got the opportunity to fine tune his white-ball skills. In 40^o Celsius, on gravel surfaces, he underwent extensive sessions on how to go against spinners. While Rachin reaped rewards with the Test team, it transformed his white-ball game as well as he was the top run-getter in the Champions Trophy.

This IPL, despite Chennai having a crowded top-order which includes three other openers – Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi and Devon Conway, Rachin has rightfully earned his spot back. That he had already won over the confidence of Chennai was evident at the auction table, when they used the RTM option to fend off interest from Ricky Ponting’s Punjab Kings.

“His game against spin has always been very good. I think his development over the 12 months has been excellent. His last game against RCB, ironically, was one of his best innings. Since then, he has contributed a number of runs for New Zealand in a really classy way. I thought his effort the other night was superb in terms of controlling the tempo of the game. He has got power and he has got street smarts. So, it’s a nice combination,” Chennai’s head coach Stephen Fleming said.

It is his struggles to control the tempo which became his biggest undoing last season. Though he managed to get quick starts for Chennai in the first two matches, he struggled to find the tempo thereafter. He either batted in top gear or found himself in a shell, struggling to break open the game. But towards the end of the campaign, after prolonged sessions with batting coach Hussey, he appeared to find a way out.

In their opening match against Mumbai Indians this season, despite struggling initially,  he found ways to keep the score moving. When the spinners were beginning to seize control, it was Rachin who put the pressure back on Mumbai before finishing with a strong unbeaten 65 off 45 deliveries.  Though he is predominantly a front-foot player, against spinners Rachin prefers to play off the back-foot, thereby creating new angles. Though he may not necessarily use his feet to come down the pitch, he has an effective slog-sweep to counter the spinners.

“The beautiful areas are his cover driving,” Hayden said of Rachin’s strengths. “He gets himself into incredible positions. He’s a very front foot player but he’s also able to rock back, use his height as an advantage and play square of the wicket. He rotates the strike well and he’s got a good sweep shot and a good down-the-ground shot; he is the complete package in terms of strike-rate and scoring rate. He’s a player of the ages,” Hayden told the broadcasters.

With Chepauk pitches once again showing signs of aiding spinners, Rachin’s importance at the top becomes even more vital for Chennai. Against pacers he has shown the game to take them head on with his cross-batted shots. In the practice sessions here, he has time and again altered between facing seamers and spinners, and also simulated the scenarios he is expected to face in the middle.

“[Last season] I slowly started to find a wee bit of a tempo in that last game against (Royal Challengers) Bengaluru (2024 edition). We know T20 is a fickle game, and results go up and down. But hopefully I can bat the way I want to and it results in wins for our CSK,” Rachin said.

After getting off to a winning start against Mumbai, on Friday, Chennai take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which is searching for its first win at MA Chidambaram Stadium since the inaugural edition. Having chosen to go back to the spin formula, Chennai need batsmen who are equipped for the conditions and in top of the list is Rachin, a batsman who could well determine how far they go.