Ish Sodhi

Inderbir Singh "Ish" Sodhi (born 31 October 1992) is a New Zealand cricketer who represents the New Zealand national cricket team in all formats, and Canterbury in domestic cricket.^[1] He bowls right-arm leg spin, and bats right-handed. He reached the no.1 ranking for T20I bowlers in January 2018, jumping from no.10 at the end of the previous year.^[2] He was a part of the New Zealand squad to finish as runners-up at the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

Ish Sodhi

Sodhi in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Inderbir Singh Sodhi
Born	(1992-10-31) 31 October 1992 (age 32) Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Nickname	Ish
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm leg break
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	New Zealand (2013–present)
Test debut (cap 262)	9 October 2013 v Bangladesh
Last Test	1 November 2024 v India
ODI debut (cap 187)	2 August 2015 v Zimbabwe
Last ODI	31 March 2023 v Sri Lanka
ODI shirt no.	61
T20I debut (cap 64)	5 July 2014 v West Indies
Last T20I	20 April 2024 v Pakistan
T20I shirt no.	61
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2012/13–present	Northern Districts
2016/17	Adelaide Strikers
2017–2018	Nottinghamshire
2018–2019	Rajasthan Royals
2018	Jamaica Tallawahs
2020	St Kitts and Nevis Patriots
2021	Worcestershire
2022	Welsh Fire
2023	Somerset
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I FC Matches 20 51 117 96 Runs scored 546 201 177 2,683 Batting average 21.84 10.05 7.37 21.63 100s/50s 0/4 0/0 0/0 0/13 Top score 65* 35 19 82* Balls bowled 4,001 2,443 2,379 17,627 Wickets 57 63 138 308 Bowling average 43.22 35.73 22.97 33.41 5 wickets in innings 1 1 0 17 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 2 Best bowling 6/86 6/39 4/28 7/30 Catches/stumpings 11/– 11/– 37/– 38/–
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  New Zealand ICC Cricket World Cup Runner-up 2019 England and Wales
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 19 June 2024

Early life

Sodhi is an ethnic Punjabi and was born in Ludhiana, India to a Sikh family.^[3] His grandparents hail from Lahore in Pakistan pre-partition.^[4] He moved to Papatoetoe, New Zealand with his family when he was four years old. He attended Papatoetoe High School.^[5]

Domestic and T20 career

Sodhi made his debut for Northern Districts in the 2012–13 Plunket Shield season.

In 2017, Sodhi was not named in the Test squad against Bangladesh, which enabled him to play for Adelaide Strikers as an injury replacement for Chris Jordan. On 18 January, in his third game for the Strikers, he ended the match with figures of 6/11 off 3.3 overs to win the match for the Strikers and Man of the Match. These are the second-best figures in Big Bash history after Lasith Malinga's 6/7 from 4 overs between the Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers.^[6][7]

He was the leading wicket-taker in the 2018–19 Plunket Shield season, with 36 dismissals in seven matches.^[8] He was released by the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the 2020 IPL auction.^[9] In July 2020, he was named in the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots squad for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League.^[10][11]

In June 2023, Sodhi joined Somerset for their Vitality Blast campaign to fill gaps in the squad left by the injuries of Peter Siddle and Roelof van der Merwe.^[12] He took three wickets in the final helping Somerset win by 14 runs.^[13]

International career

His international debut for New Zealand came in a Test match against Bangladesh during New Zealand's 2013 tour of Bangladesh. He made his Twenty20 International debut against the West Indies in July 2014. In November 2014, Sodhi was selected for a three-test series against Pakistan cricket team. In the first Test, he scored 63, a personal best and the best score by a New Zealand number-ten batsman in Test cricket. Sodhi made his One Day International debut for New Zealand against Zimbabwe on 2 August 2015.^[14]

In May 2018, he was one of the twenty players to be awarded a new contract for the 2018–19 season by New Zealand Cricket.^[15] In April 2019, he was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.^[16][17] In August 2021, Sodhi was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.^[18]

In December 2022, Sodhi was recalled in New Zealand's Test squad after 4 years, for their tour to Pakistan.^[19] In the first Test, he picked up his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket,^[20] besides scoring his career best 65 runs in the first innings.^[21]

In May 2024, he was named in New Zealand’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.^[22]

References

1. "Players / New Zealand / Ish Sodhi". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
2. "Munro and Sodhi on top of the world". Retrieved 4 January 2018.
3. "Blackcap spinner Ish Sodhi ties knot in Auckland!".
4. "To be here is special': Sodhi reveals family connection with Lahore". Retrieved 8 May 2023.
5. Mark Geenty (14 September 2013), New Black Cap Sodhi in a spin after rapid rise, retrieved 5 June 2018
6. cricket.com.au (18 January 2017), Sodhi takes six to sink Thunder, retrieved 19 January 2017
7. MrCricket1760 (12 December 2012), Lasith Malinga 6/7 vs Perth Scorchers 12/12/12, retrieved 19 January 2017 – via YouTube
8. "Plunket Shield, 2018/19: Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
9. "Where do the eight franchises stand before the 2020 auction?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
10. "Nabi, Lamichhane, Dunk earn big in CPL 2020 draft". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
11. "Teams Selected for Hero CPL 2020". Cricket West Indies. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
12. "Ish Sodhi joins Somerset on short-term contract". The Cricketer. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
13. "Somerset hold nerve to seal first T20 Blast title since 2005". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
14. "New Zealand tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa, 1st ODI: Zimbabwe v New Zealand at Harare, Aug 2, 2015". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
15. "Todd Astle bags his first New Zealand contract". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
16. "Sodhi and Blundell named in New Zealand World Cup squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
17. "Uncapped Blundell named in New Zealand World Cup squad, Sodhi preferred to Astle". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
18. "Black Caps announce Twenty20 World Cup squad, two debutants for leadup tours with stars absent". Stuff. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
19. "Sodhi & Phillips return to Test squad, Tickner retained". New Zealand Cricket. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
20. "Sodhi's maiden fifer keeps NZ in the hunt". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
21. "PAK vs NZ: Ish Sodhi registers his career-best Test score". Geo Super. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
22. "New Zealand Squad for ICC Men's World Cup 2024". ScoreWaves. Retrieved 10 June 2024.

External links

• Ish Sodhi at ESPNcricinfo