New Zealand batting coach Ronchi to quit after India series, join Melbourne Renegades

July 17 : New Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi will step down after the home series against India later this year to become head coach of the Melbourne Renegades in Australia's Big Bash League, New Zealand Cricket said on Friday.

Former wicketkeeper Ronchi, who ended his international career with New Zealand in 2017, was appointed full-time batting coach in 2020, succeeding Peter Fulton.

New Zealand enjoyed a successful period during Ronchi's tenure, winning the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021, completing a 3-0 Test series sweep against India in 2024, securing a 2-1 one-day international series win against India in January and beating England 2-1 in a Test series away from home in June.

"Coming back to the national set up has been a dream come true for me and I’m immensely grateful to my fellow coaches and the players for the opportunity to work alongside them for all these years," Ronchi said in a statement.

"It has always been my goal to try and help this team and the batters perform at the highest level and reflecting back, there have been some pretty memorable moments that I’m proud to have been part of."

Ronchi will remain with New Zealand through the India series, which runs from October 22 to December 1.