Ish Sodhi

An attacking wrist spinner is the latest flavour to catch on in the ODI game, and in a brazen Ish Sodhi, New Zealand finally have one who is starting to realise his full potential on the international stage

The Cricketer | 04/05/2019 at 14:01

Born: October 31, 1992

Role: Right-hand bat, right-arm legspin

The 26-year-old was born in the Indian state of Punjab but moved with his family to South Auckland at the age of four.

But few could have imagined that he would make his Test debut against Bangladesh in 2013 after just one full season in first-class cricket with Northern Districts, despite his initial struggle establishing himself in regional teams on unkind Auckland wickets.

However, while he has ducked in and out of the longer format, Sodhi's notable achievements for the Black Caps have come in T20I and ODI cricket after debuts in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Sodhi worked brilliantly in tandem with Mitchell Santner on more friendly Indian wickets during the World T20 in 2016 as the Kiwis reached the semi-finals of the competition, and even recorded a career-best 3-18 against the hosts in their opening game.

That performance then sparked bids the following year from T20 leagues, and consequently he has gone on to represent the Adelaide Strikers, Nottinghamshire Outlaws, Rajasthan Royals and Jamaica Tallawahs.

Sodhi told ESPNcricinfo in April that he cannot demonstrate his attacking abilities in quite the same way against top sides like India and England, and his overall figures of 0-96 from two ODIs against the former at the start of the year are proof of that.

Nevertheless, the Kiwis will need him at his wicket-taking best in England if they are to halt opposition advances in the middle overs.

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