Three years after his international retirement, Luke Ronchi put the Black Caps jersey back on and took the field for New Zealand in the second ODI against India.
Ronchi, serving as the assistant to stand-in coach Shane Jurgensen, came on as a substitute fielder on February 8, as the hosts’ camp was hit by illness.
With Kane Williamson still injured, Scott Kuggeleijn down with the flu, Mitchell Santner struck by a stomach bug and Ish Sodhi reportedly not with the squad, New Zealand were forced to turn to their coaching staff.
One of the most enjoyable moment in this ODI series
Seeing a retired player in national jersey once again is such a great feeling & he also feels so proud to wear that jersey once again
Luke Ronchi sir looks lot fitter than before
Great sight ?? #NZvIND #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/zexf7BxnFF
— Captain Kane (@SteadyTheShip) February 8, 2020
Fortunately for New Zealand, Ronchi, who retired from internationals in June 2017, has stayed in touch with the game through T20 leagues around the world. He has been an important part of the Pakistan Super League, and featured in the T10 league in Abu Dhabi in November last year.
The former wicketkeeper-batsman, who also played for Australia before shifting loyalties to their neighbours, played his part in the 39th over, when he stopped Navdeep Saini’s shot that reached him at mid-on.
New Zealand fought back from a middle-order collapse to post 273-8 in their 50 overs and bowled out India for 251 to take an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series.
