Ish Sodhi: No favourite in Test series

New Zealand leggie Ish Sodhi

Wellington: Ish Sodhi, New Zealand's leg-spinner of Indian origin, was the most successful bowler in the T20Is against India recently, taking six wickets in the five-match series which the visitors won 5-0. However, he played just one match in the ODI series thereafter where the hosts won 3-0 and won't be part of the squad for the upcoming two-Test series. He predicted a tough red-ball series nevertheless.

"This is going to be a very competitive series. You cannot choose a favourite between India and New Zealand. I think you can't say anything till the first ball is bowled," said Sodhi, 27, who is a huge role model for the Indian kids here in New Zealand. The sturdy bowler has played 45 T20Is and 42 ODIs, taking 53 and 40 wickets respectively.

Born in Ludhiana, Sodhi has his roots in the sub-continent but culturally, he is more of a Kiwi than Indian. Asked if he understands Hindi and converses with the Indian players, he laughed. "Not really. I can't speak Hindi but my Punjabi gets better when I go to India. I do understand Hindi though. I remember once [Ajinkya] Rahane told his teammates not to sledge me in Hindi since he knew that I didn't understand the language. So, then some of the guys started talking in Telugu and I was clueless," said, Sodhi who has played 17 Tests for NZ, taking 41 wickets at an average of 48.58.

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