Jeet Raval has had a fascinating journey from India to New Zealand: from being Parthiv Patel's opening partner for Vidyanagar School in Ahmedabad to playing alongside Kane Williamson for New Zealand and Northern Districts, and being part of the squad that had won the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021. Raval, who turned 37 in September, talks about buying into the New Zealand culture, the strength of their domestic system, and closing in on 10,000 first-class runs. In the Plunket Shield, only three players - Michael Papps (11,463), Mathew Sinclair (8842), and Peter Fulton (8719) - have scored more runs than Raval's 8216 in New Zealand's first-class competition.
You've had an unusual journey. As you step into your 17th Plunket Shield season, can you talk to us about that?
It's been a very satisfying journey. Obviously rewarding in terms of how long I've been able to play cricket professionally and some of the successes, especially team successes, I've had along the way. But the journey started on the back of my parents making the sacrifice to leave India, leave the family, leave their careers behind for myself and my sister to have an opportunity to do something in our life. Just a huge thank-you will never be enough.
New Zealand had a very different lifestyle, different culture, the environment, the playing style. But the people I've met along the way and who have helped me to succeed and also when the times have been tough, they have been in my corner, helping me get through this. It's been an incredible journey, one that I've cherished. Even though it might be the 17th season, it still feels like my first season. I still get the same butterflies, same excitement, when the new season is starting.
You may not have envisioned this path for you while growing up and now you're on the verge of scoring 10,000 first-class runs. How special is that?
I actually used to bowl medium pace back in the day (laughs). And when I played age-group cricket for Gujarat, I batted No. 9 or 10. But when I moved to New Zealand, I started opening the batting and took batting seriously. And I had some real good help from Kit Pereira, who was my mentor, and also Barrington Rowland, a former Karnataka player. They moulded me into the person and the cricketer I am today.
I've had to figure out a different style of cricket. Opening in New Zealand is a big challenge. You come across green surfaces more often than not. So you have to build your technique around defence, being able to strongly leave the ball outside the off stump, and set up the game for your middle order to score runs. That's how I moulded my game over the years, and even though the game has advanced quite a lot since those early days, I still pride myself on the game I built for myself and the job I've been able to do for my various teams.
[Numbers] is not what I've been driven by. For me, the driving factors have been wanting to contribute to the team, wanting to come through those challenges, and really, just contribute to the team's success over the years and finding a way in different conditions against different bowlers and finding satisfaction from there. To get to that landmark [10,000 first-class runs] would be very special and one that I will definitely celebrate. But for now, the focus is on setting up games for Northern Districts, and hopefully we can go on to defend our title as well.
Having been educated in a Gujarati-medium school, how did you adapt to New Zealand when you moved there as a teenager?
It was a shock to the system when I first arrived here. I remember my first two weeks of going to the school and everybody's talking in English, [which] I learned very briefly in India but never spoke. We spoke Gujarati mainly at home and I studied in a Gujarati-medium school. I would remember going back home to my mum, crying and saying: "I don't understand what people are saying to me." I almost felt lost at the time and I wanted to go back to India, which was my comfort zone.
I was actually doing well in terms of cricket there. I was playing for the Gujarat Under-16 team and I had my friends there. I remember telling my parents that I really want to go back. It was August [2004] when we arrived in New Zealand. My parents said: Why don't we wait till December end of the year, give it two or three months. Who knows what can happen? And then suddenly the New Zealand cricket season started in September-October and I started performing well for the school team, where I had Ajaz Patel as part of the first XI, and I got along really well with Ajaz.
Also, the cricket club I was associated with, Suburbs New Lynn Cricket Club, had the likes of Ajaz and Martin Guptill there. My mentor, Kit Pereira, was also part of the same club. They made me feel at home and took me under their wing. I can't name each one of them [in the club] but they made me feel like I was one of their sons. They would pick me up and drop me home, though I was new to their system. All of a sudden, within three-four months, I felt like I started belonging to their environment, even though the language was still a barrier.
Over the years, cricket was a common theme and a factor which allowed me to embrace the New Zealand culture and immerse myself into it slowly. And over the years, things got easier and I was able to adapt to the New Zealand way of doing things.
You then became the product of the domestic system and went on to play for New Zealand. How do New Zealand keep churning out quality international players despite having a limited talent pool?
I'm incredibly proud of the way New Zealand Cricket turned itself around from about 2014-2015, when Brendon McCullum took over captaincy [in 2013]. And also, the leadership at New Zealand's high-performance level was great in terms of preparing players to be the best in the world. Brendon brought his way of doing things and Kane [Williamson] carried on.
I think the strength of our domestic competition is very, very high. It may not be regarded as high around the world, but I think it's one of the best competitions. It tests players mentally, physically for a number of years. When these guys like [Jacob] Duffy and Daryl Mitchell, come out to the international stage, they are actually ready to perform, like you see. We don't have the depth of population to pick out the best talented players, so what they do is they pick a number of players - for example 20 or 30 players - and work hard with them and invest in them, and eventually these players come out really strongly. We're hard-working in a humble Kiwi way that gets the job done. I'm incredibly proud to be part of the system.
You spoke of your friendship with Ajaz. You both were part of the WTC-winning squad in 2021 and went on the mace tour together in Auckland. What are your memories of that?
Jazzy has been there for me since day one, and we're still brothers. We played club cricket and school cricket together and then for Auckland and at the [Central] Stags. It's great to see him succeed at the Test level too, turning from a little medium-pacer to a left-arm spinner winning games. It's incredible doing this journey with Jazzy.
Tell us about your 24 Tests with New Zealand from 2016 to 2020?
It was one of the most successful times in our Test history when I was part of the team, and we had a great team and we had a lot of success along the way as well. I really enjoyed contributing to the team. Early in my career I hadn't got a hundred, but I was still getting the starts and helping the team build that foundation.
I remember there being a lot of external pressure to score a hundred, but internally Kane, Ross [Taylor] and the other senior players never made it feel like I hadn't scored a hundred. They always made me feel like I was contributing, which was huge, and made me feel quite at ease. In the latter part of my career I sort of had my form fall away in a series against England and a big series in Australia - a place we hadn't toured for years. I think I had a couple of games where I didn't quite perform where I was required to perform. And then, unfortunately, they [team management] decided to go another way.
That obviously hurt at the time. But I know the guys that came in - like Devon Conway and Will Young and the likes - went on to perform at a very high level straightaway. So I was disappointed, but also happy that somebody else did the job that the team needed at the time. Even since then - look, I haven't lost the dream of playing again for New Zealand yet. New Zealand is such a small country, so you never say never! I feel like if there's ever an opportunity where the team is in need, through injuries or lack of performances, and if I'm performing really well, I may have an outside chance to go and play one or two games. I still have that hope.
I'm incredibly proud of the way I was able to contribute to the team's success. Yes, I felt like I could have done it a bit longer, but I'm not sweating over it. I've made peace with that.
How did you overcome that difficult Australia tour and find joy in your cricket once again?
When you're going through a slump, there are so many thoughts going through your head where you're analysing your technique, your decision-making, and your mind is clouded with so many things. So when you go out there to perform, you freeze and you can't think clearly. I can reflect back and I feel like I was that frozen man who wasn't able to let go of myself in the first Test, in Perth.
And I was dropped for the Melbourne Test. Unfortunately Kane and Henry Nicholls, who got ill in the last Sydney Test match [missed the Test]. I got an opportunity to bat at No. 3. I knew that this was my one-off opportunity because I'd been dropped and those guys would come back in the team. I went out there absolutely wanting to bat like how I batted in the backyard in Ahmedabad with my cousins. With no fear, just for the love of the game, and trusting my skills. That sort of released weight off my shoulders.
I think in the first innings, I scored 30 [31], but I feel those were some of the best runs I ever scored. And I vividly remember because it was so much fun and with the lack of expectations, it was just pure joy of wanting to play cricket.
I tell the younger guys, it's a very fine line of wanting to do well but trying too hard and letting go of your emotions. If you can detach your emotions from the game a little bit, it helps you stay level-headed and not get too caught up in wanting to do well, which I got caught up in. So I let go of expectations and the fear of failure in Sydney and I've carried on for the last few years.
Did your life outside of cricket - as an accountant - help you stay level-headed?
Absolutely. Having that career outside of cricket gives you that break to take your mind off it, and you're not thinking about cricket all the time. And also, you're not putting all eggs in one basket and you have something else to fall back on.
Family is a very important part of life. I have two young children now and they've given me a fresh perspective on life when I come home to them. They don't know whether I have scored a duck or a hundred and just want me to be their father and be around them.
You also seemed to derive enjoyment from your bowling in the last Plunket Shield season, when you took 14 wickets, including your first five-for.
I have always enjoyed bowling and helping out at the nets. Last season was one where we went in with four-five seamers for the majority of the games. If we needed someone to have a breather, I would bowl a few overs and I managed to grab a few wickets (laughs). But this season, we have Tim Pringle [fit]. He's a fantastic left-arm spinner and has a big future ahead. I'm happy to take a back seat now with the ball.
You've batted against a number of New Zealand bowlers over the years. Who was the toughest to face?
Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, and when I was playing for Auckland, I got to face the likes of Tim [Southee], Trent [Boult] and Matt Henry and Neil Wagner. All these bowlers are lethal in New Zealand conditions. They can bowl at pace and also swing the ball both ways. I've enjoyed my encounters against all those quality bowlers.
You forayed into coaching during the New Zealand winter, being an assistant to Tarun Nethula, and working with Ross Taylor at Samoa. What was that experience like?
It was my first proper coaching experience and I absolutely loved that. I enjoyed being surrounded by people who were proud to represent Samoa. We had a mix of experience - like Ross Taylor, one of the greats of world cricket, Sean Solia, who has played for Auckland, and rising stars like Solomon Nash [son of former New Zealand seamer Dion Nash]. It was a chance for me to be involved with a team that was driven by their culture and heritage. They were all proud to play for Samoa.
It was never hard to get them up for a game. For us, it was a challenge of how do we help them succeed in foreign conditions, which was Oman [for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers]. They had never experienced slow and low conditions before and I really enjoyed helping the group succeed in those conditions. We were able to advance through to our group and move into the Super Sixes, which was a big achievement for Samoa. And I think if I'm correct, we also beat PNG for the first time in 25 years, which is a step in the right direction for Samoa cricket.
I'm sure more people of Samoan heritage will take some inspiration from this tournament. Hopefully we can push for higher honours and I can keep giving back to Samoan cricket.
Did coaching Samoa change your perspective?
Yeah, two things that stood out for me. Firstly, providing the structure and the quality of training to players where they feel like they're getting some value out of each training. And the second part that I really enjoyed was talking to players differently. Each player requires different kinds of communication. Figuring out how each player likes to be communicated with and helping them feel confident about their own game so they can go out there and perform. I feel as a coach, if you can make your players feel confident in their own ability, they are more likely to go out there and succeed.
You're also on the board of the New Zealand Cricket Players Association and part of a system where even domestic players are opting for flexible contracts. How are New Zealand dealing with this changing landscape?
I guess it's [about] finding the balance of giving players the opportunity to play those franchise competitions and making sure they are committed to playing for New Zealand and domestically here in New Zealand. It's a balance where our boards are willing to work with the players on a case-by-case basis.
It's a great arrangement from the board to have an open mind to have those discussions with players wanting to play [franchise cricket]. I don't think we have found a perfect balance but we have found a good balance so far. We are on the right track to allowing players to go and play but also maintain the integrity of playing for New Zealand, which is the pinnacle for most of our cricketers in New Zealand.