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Kolkata Knight Riders have received a big blow on their squad on a crucial point of the IPL 2026 as the New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra has left the camp in mid-tournament.

The left-hander has flown back to his homeland to prepare himself for New Zealand's upcoming Test series in England. It has been reported that there are no injury concerns for Rachin Ravindra.

KKR is standing at the 8th spot in the IPL 2026 points table with 9 points after playing 11 matches. It has been one of the worst starts for the defending champions as they faced consecutive losses five times at the beginning and had also faced a wash-out against Punjab Kings.

At one point of the season, the Kolkata franchise was on the last position in the points table with little hopes for playoffs. But with a good comeback they won four consecutive games against Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow Super Giants, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals.

But their winning streak broke as they faced a 6-wicket defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on 13th May.

According to the reports published by journalist Subhayan Chakraborty, Rachin Ravindra has returned home only for preparing himself for red-ball cricket before New Zealand's important three-match Test series in England.

Kolkata Knight Riders have also posted a farewell message for Rachin Ravindra before he leaves them for international duty.

England will host New Zealand in a three-match Test series just after the IPL 2026 ends. The first Test will begin from June 4 at Lord's Cricket Ground. The second Test will be played at The Oval and the third Test will be played at Trent Bridge.

The New Zealand side for the Test series will be captained by Tom Latham.

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Rachin Ravindra did not participate in a single game for KKR in the IPL 2026. He was mostly used as a reserve batting all-rounder. The New Zealander was roped in by KKR for his base price of 2 Crore INR prior to the tournament. He had gone unsold in the first stage of the auction prior to Kolkata acquiring him from the second lot.

In his career in IPL before, Rachin was part of the Chennai Super Kings squad in the 2024 and 2025 edition. In 18 IPL games, he has piled 413 runs at an average of 24.29 and a strike rate of 143.90.

KKR will play against Gujarat Titans next at Eden Gardens on May 16. They have three more games in their league stage to play, and all will be played in Kolkata.