New Zealand vs India 2022: Kiwi spinner Ish Sodhi eager to cover up for lost opportunities during COVID-19
The first T20I of the three-match series between India and New Zealand was washed out in Wellington on Friday.
FollowSenior New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi doesn't mind playing a few extra games to make up for the matches he missed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, although the crowded international schedule has been under scrutiny for some time now.
Australia and England are playing an ODI series less than a week after the T20 World Cup concluded, while Hardik Pandya's revamped Indian squad is touring New Zealand for limited-overs cricket.
The first T20I of the three-match series between India and New Zealand was washed out in Wellington on Friday.
Asked if the busy itinerary is putting a lot of pressure on players, Sodhi disagreed. "To be honest, I haven't looked at schedules hell of a lot, but it looks in last few years we have to put a lot of cricket in short space of time and whether that's something to do with COVID or having missed out on a lot of cricket," Sodhi told reporters after the tour opener against India was abandoned.
But Sodhi, who has 109 wickets to his name and has played 86 T2OIs for the Black Caps, is glad that there is a lot of cricket going on right now.
"I think first and foremost we are happy to be playing the amount of cricket we are playing, having missed out on a quite a few series in last two years has been challenging. As a cricketer, in the last few years, we lost out on a few games which we could have potentially played. Yes, if we could sneak in a few matches, it would be great," he feels but is aware that workload management would always be an important criterion.
"Lot of international teams have a lot of depth and associations are finding time to give players rest as it really is an important part of game," he added.
Cricket is a weather-dependent sport, hence there have been suggestions to have matches under a retractable covered roof to prevent rain from being a factor. However, the leg-spinner prefers it in its current form because weather patterns increase the game's suspense.
"At the end of the day, you can't control the weather. Actually, the weather plays an important dynamic in the game of cricket and if there's a bit of weather around, you have to count for that as a tactic," Sodhi stated.
"And generally when there is rain, you get a bit more idea about DLS (Duckworth-Lewis System) or what you are chasing. If playing under cover (roof) is more beneficial, then it's up to people who decide," he added.
Sodhi feels privileged to be a part of New Zealand's current bowling attack, which is among their best since the introduction of Twenty20 cricket.
"I think all aggressive bowlers are in our attack. We are blessed to have 150-click bowlers such as Adam Milne and Lockie Ferguson, supplemented by great 'old kids' (Trent Boult and Tim Southee), who might not have pace but are wily with their variations," he said.
Sodhi's job is to attack, which wrist spinners do better than finger spinners because they get to turn the ball off the surface more. Mitchell Santner, an orthodox left-arm spinner, is holding one end up.
"Santner is incredibly economical on best of days and so role that fits in for me is that of aggressive one. If you look across the board, internationally lot of teams are looking at leg spinners in their sides because they can turn the ball both ways, they have got mystery and under lights can be quite hard to pick," Sodhi explained the rationale behind teams opting for wrist spinners in their playing XIs.
(With inputs from PTI)
