There is nothing that gives a nation great joy than seeing one of their very own rise from being just a youngster in the junior to being one of the most important players for the senior team. This is true regardless of the sport which is in focus. This also includes cricket. In New Zealand, So many players would match this description. However, for us, we would talk about one player today. His name is Jeet Raval.

For most people who have been into cricket for the longest time, they would surely remember him when he was just trying out. However, that was a long time ago as he is already 31 years. However, if there is one thing we can be sure of, that is the fact that New Zealand has surely enjoyed his best years as a sportsman. His career as a batsman can be traced to when he started playing for the under 19 teams for New Zealand. However, his transition to the national side would not be so swift. He would go on to play domestic cricket for quite a while before he was called up. Surprisingly, he is not someone who is not for swapping or shifting through teams. He has only really played for two domestic clubs which would be Central Districts and also Auckland. He still bats first for Auckland up until this day.

However, his wait would eventually end when he was allowed to play for his country in the Test series in 2016. However, despite this positive news, things did not go exactly as planned. His test matches were not up t lar and his form for his international side was very weak. However, after 17 matches into his international career, he would storm to his very first century. That happened during the game New Zealand played against Bangladesh.

Together with Tom Latham, he would also go on to create some of the best partnerships that New Zealand has ever seen. Never has any partnership in this history of playing in the sport has more wickets been earned. There was no doubt that his international career has turned a new leaf.

However, while he was striving in the cricket world, his personal life was also moving forward in the right decision. In 2016, he was able to finally seal the marriage blessing with Surabhi. However, the sad part is that this was around the same time that they called him to play in the national team. This means that their honeymoon was cut short. He would no doubt look at it as a small price to pay for playing for his country on the biggest stages.

At the age of 31, he would surely be painfully aware that he is growing no younger. However, he is still at his peak. This is the right time to make sure that you play some of the best cricket of your life. It is surely worth remembering.