He is not trying to sell Cadbury chocolate products to the locals. But the Black Caps left-hander is poised to open the batting against an intimidating South African attack which includes Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada.
It is enough to make you want to pull a sickie.
But the 28-year-old is not planning on developing the always serious man flu or anything else which might get him out of the task. He is actually looking forward to what he described as an opportunity. Strange idea.
``It is a great challenge for us and as an international cricketer that is what you dream about,'' Raval said.
``You want to play against a world-class quality attack and perform. If I can contribute towards our team's success, that would be great.''
Raval made his debut against Pakistan in November and has got his test career off to a promising start with two half-centuries in four games. But when you are up against an attack like South Africa's, the demands go up.
He has been impressed by what he has seen from Rabada during the one-day series.
``He has all the tools and he is a very skilful bowler. As a batsman you have to be on your mark and there is no let off. The margin of error becomes really small.
``But if you have your game plan sorted against each bowler and are willing to stick to it as long as possible, then I'm sure opportunities will come your way.''
New Zealand has used up a few openers over the years in the search for a solid opening combination. And an extra level of scrutiny has seemingly always been reserved for the men who scratch the first mark in the pitch.
But all that is outside of Raval's control. A focused individual, he has put a lot of work into his game at domestic level since making his first-class debut in December 2008.
``It is a challenging job as we all know. But for me it is about making sure I perform my role and set up a platform for us to get a big total. I'll approach it like any other game.''
