Ex-NZ Test opener Jeet Raval retires from professional cricket

New Delhi: Former New Zealand Test opener Jeet Raval has announced his retirement from all professional cricket, Northern Districts Cricket said on Friday. After a distinguished career that produced more than 10,000 first-class runs for Auckland, Central Districts and finally Northern Districts; national titles in every format; and 24 Test caps for New Zealand, "Raval said the time is right to step away" for the game he loves.

Raval's retirement leaves big shoes to fill as captain of the Northern Districts Plunket Shield team. Only three players in history have scored more Plunket Shield runs than Raval. He has amassed 8216 runs in the competition since his debut for Auckland in the 2008/09 season.

The Ahmedabad-born batter began his career with Auckland after emerging out of Avondale College - where he’d been in the school First XI alongside another handy cricketer, his lifelong friend Ajaz Patel.

He played 24 Test matches for the New Zealand, scoring over 1000 runs at an average of 30 including fifties and a century. He also has one Test wicket; Australian captain Pat Cummins probably still has nightmares about being clean bowled by a Jeet Raval leg spinner.

After 12 seaons of first-class cricket with Auckland and Central Districts, Jeet Raval saw the light in 2020 and made the move to Northern Districts. He played over 130 games for ND across the three formats, many of them as captain. Under his leadership Northern Districts won their first Plunket Shield championship win in twelve seasons.

In first-class cricket alone Raval played 164 matches, including 73 for Auckland, 10 for the Stags, and 46 for Northern Districts after settling in Mount Maunganui.

When he reached his 10,000th first-class run, in December 2025 whilst captaining ND against Auckland in his adopted home town, he became only the 30th New Zealander to join that distinguished club. This includes international matches (Tests and other first class matches for the likes of New Zealand A; overseas stints).

Over the course of his final season, he chalked up a few more and landed on 10,432. In the past couple of seasons Jeet has also rediscovered those leg spinning skills, taking some key wickets on the way to that Plunket Shield win.

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