Name: Ish Sodhi
Inderbir Singh "Ish" Sodhi is a cricketer who represents the New Zealand national team across all formats. He plays domestic cricket for Canterbury and is a right-arm leg-spinner and a right-handed batter. Sodhi's domestic journey began with Northern Districts, where he made his debut in the 2012–13 Plunket Shield season. In 2017, he was not named in the Test squad against Bangladesh, which allowed him to play for the Adelaide Strikers as an injury replacement for Chris Jordan in the Big Bash League (BBL).
In January 2017, in his third game for the Strikers, Sodhi delivered a sensational performance, recording figures of 6/11 off 3.3 overs to secure victory for the Strikers and earn the Man of the Match award. These figures remain the second-best in BBL history, behind only Lasith Malinga's 6/7 from 4 overs.
Sodhi was the leading wicket-taker in the 2018–19 Plunket Shield season, claiming 36 dismissals in seven matches.
In the IPL he was released by the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the 2020 IPL auction. In July 2020, Sodhi was named in the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots squad for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League.
Sodhi's international debut for New Zealand came in a Test match against Bangladesh during the 2013 tour of Bangladesh. He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut against the West Indies in July 2014 and his One Day International (ODI) debut against Zimbabwe on August 2, 2015.
In November 2014, Sodhi was selected for a three-Test series against Pakistan. In the first Test, he scored a personal-best 63 runs, the highest score by a New Zealand number-ten batsman in Test cricket at the time.
Sodhi achieved a significant milestone in January 2018 when he reached the number one ranking for T20I bowlers, jumping from 10th position at the end of the previous year.
In May 2018, Sodhi was one of twenty players awarded a new contract for the 2018–19 season by New Zealand Cricket. In April 2019, he was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Sodhi was also included in New Zealand's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup in August 2021.
In December 2022, after a four-year absence, Sodhi was recalled to New Zealand's Test squad for their tour of Pakistan. In the first Test, he claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket and also scored his career-best score of 65 runs in the first innings.
Sodhi's reputation as a skilled wrist-spinner has made him a sought-after commodity in various T20 franchise leagues worldwide. He has represented teams like Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Sylhet Sixers in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), and Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Sodhi has represented New Zealand in several major ICC events, including the World Cup and the T20 World Cup. He was part of the New Zealand team that reached the final of the 2015 Cricket World Cup and the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
In the 2022 T20 World Cup, Sodhi played a pivotal role in New Zealand's campaign, taking crucial wickets and helping the team reach the semi-finals. In 2018, he became the first New Zealand bowler to take two hat-tricks in international cricket, achieving the feat in T20Is against Sri Lanka and Australia.
In Test cricket, he has taken 41 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 47.46. His best bowling figures in an innings are 4/105. In ODIs, Sodhi has 90 wickets from 66 matches with an economy rate of 5.30. In T20 Internationals, he has claimed 97 wickets in 73 matches with best figures of 4/28. Overall in his international career so far, Sodhi has taken 228 wickets across all three formats.
