New Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi will step down from his role at the end of this year's home series against India, having accepted the head coach position with the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.

Ronchi, who has served as New Zealand's full-time batting coach since 2020 after succeeding Peter Fulton, will remain with the national side through the India series before taking up his new assignment in Australia.

The former Australia and New Zealand international was part of the coaching setup during a highly successful period for the national team, including the ICC World Test Championship triumph in 2021, appearances in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup finals in 2021 and 2026 as well as a run to the summit clash at the 2025 Champions Trophy. He also oversaw New Zealand's historic 3-0 Test series win and the ODI series wins in India in 2024 and 2026 respectively, as well as the recent Test series victory in England.

New Zealand Test captain Tom Latham paid tribute to Ronchi's contribution, highlighting both his influence on the team's culture and the development of the batting group. "He's such a valued member of this group, certainly when he was playing but also after he transitioned into the coaching space too, so it's disappointing to be losing a guy like Ronchs. He's someone who understands the environment and culture of this group and is a huge driver of that.

"I think you could talk to most guys, and they'd agree everyone's game has gone from strength to strength under his guidance and he's always been someone who's worked incredibly hard for the team and that effort shows out in the middle. We'll miss him, but we obviously wish him all the best for what's got coming up."

Reflecting on his six years with the national side, Ronchi said coaching New Zealand had been a career highlight. "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.

"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. I'll be watching very closely and wish everyone all the very best with what's to come in the future."