Editor's note: Professional sport is as much a scientific pursuit as it is a recreational wonder. What appears routinely mundane is a result of the hours spent honing the craft and deciphering the body mechanics till it becomes a monotonous muscle memory. In Firstpost Masterclass, our latest weekly series, we look at precisely these aspects that make sport a far more intriguing act than we know.
When Twenty20 cricket came into existence, people were worried about the survival of spinners. But over the years, they have not only survived but also bossed the format.
Currently, a staggering nine of the top 10 bowlers in ICC's Men's T20 rankings are spinners. While seven spinners occupy the top 10 list in Women's T20s. There are a number of intriguing aspects to spin bowling in T20s. To understand them, Firstpost caught up with New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi in our latest episode of Firstpost Masterclass.
In his seven-year career, Sodhi has so far had reasonable success and impressive numbers in T20s with 170 wickets from 152 matches at an average of 24.30, a strike rate of 18.6 and economy rate of 7.83.
He's had varied experience playing in some of the biggest leagues like the IPL, Caribbean Premier League and Big Bash League. And as he gets set to don a new hat, that of spin consultant and operations executive at Rajasthan Royals this season, we try to pick his brain on the art of spin bowling in T20s.
How did you start off with cricket?
When I was nine, we had been in New Zealand for 5 years and my cousins were coming to NZ because their family wanted to settle here as well. They came and stayed with us and I had never really known what cricket was, which is kind of really weird because I come from a really strong Indian Punjabi background. So it's kind of bizarre that I wasn't exposed to it earlier. My cousin came over from Punjab and he said he really wanted to play cricket and join a cricket club and he couldn't speak English very well. And, fortunately, I could speak Punjabi and English.
So I joined this cricket club with him as his translator. All things happen for a reason because I would have never thought or decided on joining cricket unless my mum asked me to be a translator. Man! I am really glad that happened because it's such a wonderful game to be part of. It's not until you are locked down for six months and don't have a chance to play cricket or have a chance to be in a team environment that you realise how great this game is. I look back at that moment when I joined that cricket club, at the time I didn't realise it, but it was going to be the start of a really special journey for me.
How did you take up leg-spin?
I was 12 when I went to a cricket academy where Dipak Patel was the head coach. And he just asked one day, 'Is there anyone here who is a spin bowler'? I just wanted to impress him because I knew that he was a spin bowler so I put my hand up. Had never bowled spin in my life. And he put me in a net by myself and said, right, show me what you've got. And naturally, I just bowled leg-spin. And from that day I fell in love with it and decided to research guys like Shane Warne and then I found Anil Kumble. Fortunately, I grew up in an era where we had Youtube so could learn a lot from them.
We will see you in a new role and interesting role as spin bowling consultant and operations executive for Rajasthan Royals this season. What does your role involve?
It's a brand new role that's been created. Exactly what it entails will probably become apparent once the IPL starts but initially the main role that I have is as a spin bowling consultant. I worked a lot especially in the second year I played for RR. I played only two games in the season but I worked a lot with the young spinners off the park trying to impart some of my experience and knowledge. Although I am only 27, still quite a young spinner, I've been playing T20 cricket since 2012-13, so it's quite a bit of time and hopefully, some of the experience that I have passed on to the younger spinners during that campaign I suppose may have helped them in some way or another. And RR saw it fit that there was an opportunity for me to take on the role if I wasn't picked up in the auction. And so it was something that I took on and something that I will really enjoy doing.
When T20s came into existence, people were worried about the survival of spinners but they have bossed the T20s. What's the reason spinners have had so much success in the format?
I listen to quite a few old leg spinners from the 1990s and 2000s, that's kind of when I was growing up. The guys like Shane Warne, Stuart MacGill, Anil Kumble, those were probably three best spinners of that era. The Australian leg spinners used to say the hardest thing in Test cricket was trying to make the batsman play a shot. But every time they did make them play a shot there was a chance of getting a wicket. I think if you use that same skill in T20 cricket, the batsman is playing a shot every ball so if you are bowling your best deliveries as a leg spinner, spinning the ball hard, spinning it both ways, and if the batsman is trying to take you on then the margin for error can be a lot higher, that is a big reason why spinners have had great success in T20 cricket. Because you have to attack all the time and if the spinner is accurate enough and the pitch is offering spin, it's actually quite difficult to do.
What qualities and mindset do a good spin bowler need in T20s?
It comes down to preparation, knowing your opponent, pitch conditions but the main thing is you have to have a huge amount of resilience. If I could go back in a time machine and tell a 17-year-old of myself it would be: In T20 cricket always be resilient, never give up. If you get hit for a six, you can still get a wicket and make a contribution to your team. Even guys like Imran Tahir who is one of the greatest T20 bowlers of all time still playing at 41-42 and still doing really well, he always says to us and the young leg spinners: Never give up, always be resilient, if the batsman hits you for a six, you can get him out next ball. And that's a really strong quality to have as any bowler but more so as a spinner because you can't bowl a bouncer, you can't use intimidation in that regard, so you have to use it in a different way.
Is a holding role more effective than an attacking one?
Personally, I like the idea of getting as many wickets as possible before the last 5-6 overs. If you have a team four, five or maybe six down before 16 overs, in those last four overs, your seam bowlers are bowling to No 7, 8, 9 who haven't been in for a long time. And maybe then they can control the death a little bit better than, for example, if you are bowling to a batsman who is 60 not out off 40 deliveries and then they can start to accelerate as they are seeing the pitch well.
But in recent times, it's probably become apparent that dot balls get wickets as well. So, one type of bowler is the one looking to be aggressive and willing to go for runs to get wickets. And another type is the one who bowls 5-6 runs an over and through that pressure, the team gets wickets at the other end or they might get wickets because of that pressure as well. Both of those two types of roles: holding and attacking are still trying to achieve the same thing, which is to get wickets, but it's just how many runs are you willing to gamble to get those wickets. That comes down to the individual.
Does the mindset - whether to attack or defend - vary with pitches?
Definitely. I was having this conversation earlier today with a friend. We play T20 cricket in New Zealand most of the time and we were talking about the difference between red-ball cricket and T20s and we definitely find that the length you have to bowl is different in places like NZ or the UK, or the pace is different than you perhaps might bowl in India or in the Caribbean because the pitches allow for little bit more spin at times and the wickets are slower.
Definitely in NZ, bowling back of a length is important because you probably won't get too much spin out of the wicket. So you have to be really smart with your lengths and that perhaps isn't quite as an attacking role as what you would play in the subcontinent or the Caribbean because you are trying to hit the stumps most of the time and use the spin. It definitely does vary.
How important should be the emphasis on spinning the ball?
Again, I was having that conversation today as well, it's funny you are asking these questions. It's important. Even when you are trying to bowl that back of a length, it's important that you spin the ball hard into the surface. That's something that guys like Santner, Sunil Narine, these finger spinners are really good at because they can fire the ball into a hard length with revs on the ball and that's why they are so effective. You've got to put revs on the ball unless you've got incredible control of your length, otherwise putting revs on the ball gives you a little bit more margin for error.
You spoke about bowling in different countries, can you delve into the key to spin bowling in England, New Zealand or Australia where the ball doesn't turn much?
Through my experiences having played a lot with Santner who has a really great understanding of spin bowling, we generally find that in New Zealand, Australia and perhaps England as well, overspin is the key. To get right over the ball, that's generally when you can get most spin out of the surfaces. I don't know if it's because they are hard or maybe they are quite bouncy so that you can use that bounce from the overspin.
But we've always found that when you bowl overspin, you can get something out of the wicket. If you bowl sidespin it generally goes straight. But then the ironic thing is we sometimes go to India and play and you have to be adaptable and bowl sidespin because sometimes on those wickets, sidespin turns a little bit more. If you look at guys like Ravi Jadeja, he is incredible in Test cricket in India because he bowls fast side-spinners sometimes 95-96 kmph, so while we don't want to go away from the strengths, we want to learn to be able to do both. But I guess because we have grown up in NZ, bowling overspin has been the key for us to get something out of the surface.
So, where have you enjoyed bowling the most in T20s?
There are two places. One has definitely got to be India. The atmosphere is just really enjoyable and obviously sometimes the wickets can suit spin bowling which is nice. Growing up in NZ if you get a wicket that spins it's really enjoyable to bowl on. The other one is Australia which is really good because the boundaries are really big so at times you've got a little bit more margin for error to flight the ball slightly more and be a bit more aggressive. But I do love playing in NZ as well because it's such a big challenge. We play at Eden Park sometimes and the boundary over your head is 45 metres so you have to be really conscious every ball. But if you do a really good job and contribute to your team, it's really satisfying.
What's an ideal delivery in T20 cricket?
Five-metre length. If you can nail a five-metre length, spin the ball either way off the off stump, that's the ideal way to go about it. That's kind of what I will aspire to do now moving forward and just try to keep the stumps in play.
How does the perfect length to bowl in T20s change in comparison to Tests and ODIs?
In T20 cricket if you look now, batsmen see the ball full. I learnt the concept in England because the coaches used to call it a step hit length. If the batsman can step and hit the ball over your head or over the leg side then it’s generally a little bit too full. You want to be slightly back so if they are trying to step hit you there's a chance the ball might spin and they might not be close enough to it and may get a top edge or something like that. In T20 cricket, a back foot defence might be a really good length that you are bowling, but in Test cricket, you want to encourage the batsman to drive just to be able to bring some dismissals in play. That's the main difference, you just don't want to be too full in T20 cricket. Now-a-days, if you overpitch, it feels like 8 out of 10 deliveries are going for six. It's really important to be conscious of your length, bring it back but still spin it really really hard.
In the ODIs, because you are trying to be slightly more aggressive, you can vary your lengths a little bit more. If you are going for 7 an over, that's not a biggie, it's not a big deal if you are getting 2 or 3 wickets. One of the best exploiters of 50-over cricket at the moment is Adil Rashid. England go out there and try to score 320-330 every time and he just tries to get wickets through the middle for his team and does a phenomenal job. And sometimes he might get 3/70 and he's played the best match-winning role. In early 2000s, it was normal for spinners to go for 35-40 runs in their 10-over spell, get one wicket and it might look good but it's not going to make as much of an impact as perhaps 3/70 will make for a team now-a-days.
I was having a discussion with my CPL teammate Sohail Tanvir about the four fielders outside the ring and he said that back in the day, batsmen used to look to see off the ball in the first 10 overs, then consolidate from 10-40 overs and look to accelerate in the last 10. Whereas now, where there are just four fielders out between 10-40 overs, it seems to be the time when the batsmen are trying to get really aggressive and capitalise on the extra fielder being up in the ring.
That's a really unique skill for a bowler to be able to exploit because the batsmen have slightly more advantage with the extra fielder in and they are always going to come after you. As a spinner, in the middle phase, I am willing to go at 6.7 or 7 an over as long as I am getting 2-3 wickets so that the batsman isn't on 70 not-out in the last 10 overs. The death bowlers in my team have new batsmen to bowl to and that's a really important role for a spinner to play for the team at the moment.
Since you are tall, naturally you like to use that advantage and bowl a bit back, isn't it?
Definitely. Especially because if I go too full, it's coming from such a height that it does go too full and sometimes can be a bit loopy, so I have to bowl hard into the surface as opposed to guys who can bowl flat and skiddy. It's important for me, especially in conditions where it’s not suiting spin bowlers, to be slightly back of a length. And that is something which I and Santner speak about quite a lot.
You spoke about Adil Rashid in ODIs. Who according to you is the best spinner in T20s?
Oh, it's got to be Rashid Khan, isn't it? Khan, Imran Tahir, those two are phenomenal. I and Fawad Ahmed call Imran Tahir the president and Rashid Khan Prime Minister... That's probably because of the age difference. But looking at the T20 cricket in the world, I love watching them bowl the most. I haven't seen their stats but I am sure they will be right up there with the best in the world.
What makes Tahir and Rashid so successful in this format?
They are two very different bowlers. Rashid can bowl 90 to a 100 kmph and spin the ball both the ways all out of the back of his hand which is very difficult to pick and he's always got the stumps in play. Very accurate, same as Imran Tahir. Immy just bowls phenomenal changes of pace. He bowls really quick ones out of the front of the hand, bowls the odd slower ones, and always seems to drop it on a really good length and has one of the biggest googlies in the world. So two completely different bowlers and both are very successful. For young kids watching these guys do it differently but still having a similar kind of success is a cool thing.
How do you build a T20 over?
In the past, the batsmen probably wanted to get a boundary off the first ball or second ball of the over to try and put pressure on you. So there has to be a little bit of respect of that fact if you are playing on a good surface, and perhaps getting him off the strike for one isn't the worst option. Then, you might look to attack them in the middle of the over and hopefully they are in a mode of trying to rotate the strike, you might get a dot ball or a wicket. And say you haven't got a wicket and bowled five balls for six runs then the last ball of the over you don't want to gamble and try to get a wicket and get hit for a boundary. You want to maybe get a dot ball or even a single to pass the ball onto the next bowler and hopefully keep the pressure on for them to try and get a wicket.
If you have been hit for three sixes in a row, how do you recover?
There've definitely been times in my career when I've been hit for three sixes in a row (smiles). And definitely stood at the top of my mark and thought, ‘oh, what if I get hit for a fourth one’? But it's important to stand at the top of your mark after that's happened, forget that it's happened and try to focus on the next delivery. It's really important to have that clarity because especially in T20 cricket you could get hit for three sixes and in the next over you could get a wicket or next ball you can get a wicket and help change the momentum of the game for your team.
You always have to remember that you are always in the game. Because there is a lot of time in T20 cricket now, back in the day we used to say it's a really quick game but you can come back from an over that goes for runs. However, it's important as well that if your first two or three balls go for 12 or 13, then last 3 balls you are really conscious that the over only ends up going for 17. That's actually a win because the last three balls have only gone for 3-4 runs as supposed to if you let it get ahead of you and the next three balls go for another 12 runs and it's a big over of 24 and now the momentum is with the batting side.
Suppose the over doesn't end well and you are hit for another two boundaries or sixes. How do you recover in the next over if your captain does hand you the ball again?
Generally, if the captain hands you the ball again especially being an aggressive leg-spin bowler, he wants a wicket from you. He wants you to get a wicket because the batsman might be on 60 not out, if you get him out then brilliant because it might bring the new batsman in and he goes for a few dot balls. So you've got to remember that you're always in the game and it's important to remember that you are playing a team game. It sometimes gets so easy to get caught up in your own personal game and role. But you are playing a role that's eventually going to contribute to a result for your team. And it's really important to keep that in mind. That helps you construct your next over a lot better than if you are just worried about getting hit for more runs.
How much thinking goes into outclassing a batsman as compared to waiting for them to make a mistake?
Most of the batsmen that we play against in T20 cricket are very very high quality and world-class. They've got shots all over the ground. So, potentially waiting for them to make a mistake asking them tough questions is probably the best option. As long as they are trying to hit you off the best delivery that can you bowl, it's a really good option. Before the match, you might sit down and look at some video and figure out what the right line and length is to bowl to a certain batsman but other than that if you commit to that plan and they still get you for runs, you can still walk away and be pretty happy with your performance.
As a bowler, what kind of dismissal you are looking for in T20s?
It depends on where I am playing. If it's a low slow wicket then I am always looking for an LBW or bowled and if it's a place like NZ, then perhaps I am looking to bowl a length where they try to hit me for a six and the ball goes straight up and they get caught. Or I might be trying to bowl at the wide lines so that they can't reach it and might try to go across the line and it goes straight up. It does change but definitely in the subcontinent on the slower wickets, LBW and bowled hitting the top of the stumps.
How important is using the crease for a bowler in T20s?
It's probably something I would like to do more of. In red-ball cricket, we do it quite a lot because we've got a lot of time to think about the way we are trying to dismiss the batsman, using different types of variations. But a guy like Mitchell Santener does it really well. I've seen Imran Tahir do it really well. Ravi Jadeja does it phenomenally well. Perhaps the more people that I've seen do it are finger spinners, I don't know if that's because they don't have a Doosra or some of them don't have the Carrom ball so they might need other variations to help them be effective. Yeah, but it's definitely something I would like to do more of.
How does it help? Can you delve deep into use of the crease?
If you are tight to the stumps and bowl the ball straight down the line, it will spin sharply so the batsman might miss the ball by a considerable margin. If it's turning so much and I decide to come from wide on the crease, and my angle comes in and then it turns the same amount, it doesn't look like it's turning as sharply so you might be able to get the edge because the angle is so much smaller as opposed to bowling straight down the line of the stumps and then it might spin too much that the batsman might miss the ball. It's a nice delivery but the batsman is not out. So you might want to change the angle and make it such that the batsman's angle or the bat is exposed.
What's the key to bowling in Powerplay?
I haven't done a lot of powerplay bowling in my career. Most of the bowling I've done is after six overs. But the best powerplay bowlers that I've seen bowl, they bowl wicket to wicket, keep the stumps in play and ensure that they get hit on just one side of the wicket. So if they might have their fielders on the leg side they ensure that they don't give the batsmen much room or they might get their fielders on the off side and ensure that they don't give the batsmen any straight deliveries so that they can hit it over to the leg side.
The best leg spinner I've seen in the Powerplay is Samuel Badree. He was the best at doing it and was wicket to wicket, quite a skiddy bowler. I don't think he tried to spin the ball away too much. Most of the deliveries to a right-hand batsman were either big sliders out of the front of the hand hitting middle and leg stump or a googly that was pitching on middle and off stump and hitting the middle and leg stump. He was the best at exploiting that powerplay as a leg spinner. So yeah, stumps in play, wicket to wicket, back of a length.
Do you find the newer ball harder to bowl with or easier?
I really enjoyed bowling with the new ball. Definitely having the two fielders outside the ring as opposed to five was always going to pose a challenge. But there are a couple of times I did it, it was because the pitch was offering a little bit of spin and we used it as an aggressive option. I really enjoy being that aggressive bowler and the conditions were in my favour. I assume on a wicket that's a really good one (for batting), it definitely comes down to being a lot more courageous and defensive with your length. But it is definitely different if the wicket is offering something. Then you just bowl your best delivery, spin the ball both ways and try to get wickets - LBW and bowled.
What's the perfect pace to bowl in T20s?
It depends on the wicket. But if look at guys like Rashid Khan, he bowls at 90 to 100 kmph and if I try to do that, then perhaps I would go away from my own strengths. But when you look at guys like Yuzvendra Chahal, he has a very successful T20 record and sometimes bowls at 78-79 kmph. So, it depends on the conditions and it depends on you and what makes you the best you can bowl. But it's working it out on the day. For example, Santner sometimes speaks about the fact that the pitch is spinning a little bit when it's slower so I am going to change my pace a little bit but if it's spinning when I am quick then I will just keep bowling quick. And that's something you work out on the day as well.
How difficult is it to spin the ball with pace?
That's probably the thing that sets aside Rashid Khan from most bowlers. The fact that he can still spin the ball both ways at that 90-100 kmph pace and still get a degree of overspin. It is difficult, if it wasn't then you would have five or six Rashid Khan's in the world but there's only one. Sandeep Lamichhane also does it really well. I know Shreyas sometimes bowls 90kmph googlies in the IPL which is really difficult to do. It's definitely difficult but it can be done. It takes time to work on that and have the confidence to be able to do it under pressure. That is the thing that sets aside very high-quality spin bowlers from perhaps not so high-quality spinners.
How much of a role does the pitch play in deciding the speed to bowl through the air?
If it's a really flat pitch, then you've to change the pace. You can't become a one-pace bowler and get hit. If the pitch is spinning, most of the time you want to be slightly quicker. Try to make the batsman make a decision when it’s spinning at pace because it's often the hardest thing to do. But if it's really flat and you keep bowling that quick pace if it's not spinning that much then guys like Andre Russell would just eat you up.
How often should one use variations in T20s?
When I was younger, Brendon McCullum was my captain in ODI and Test cricket. And he gave me a piece of advice that probably works in T20 cricket as well. He said, if it's spinning, you don't need to use your variations as much but if it's not spinning, then perhaps you need to use your variations to try and make the batsman do something different. But a guy like Imran Tahir might bowl two three or four variations an over whereas someone like Rashid Khan might bowl a leg spinner and a googly and that's it. It varies for different bowlers but it is true if it's spinning a lot, you don't need to bowl a lot of variations but if it's not then probably you do.
Why are wrist spinners so successful in T20s?
Number one is because they spin the ball both ways. And it is because the batsmen are trying to play a shot every ball and they've got the opportunity to spin the ball away from both right and left-hand batsmen. So when you are trying to play a slog sweep and the ball is spinning away from you, that's a tough option and that's probably why they get a lot of wickets through that middle-overs phase.
How do you bowl to Russell or ABD given that they have this habit of hitting good balls for fours?
I suppose to guys like that, you have to be very very conscious of their strengths but then you also have to be really conscious of your own strengths and try to implement them as much as you can. And just like you said, sometimes they hit really good balls for a four, if they do that, you go back to the top of your mark and something tells you that you might have to do something different. But that's most of the time they are expecting you to do. So, if they do hit a really good ball for a four or six off your bowling, if you are in the best mindset, then you probably go and try to do it again. They might hit it for four or six the second time, they might do it a third time but maybe on the fourth one, you might get a wicket. The better the batsman, the simpler you have to keep it.
Some leggies switch to using their wrong’un as a stock ball against left-handers. Is that something you've considered?
Definitely. Often these days, left-handers are always expecting a googly from you early. I have bowled a lot of googlies to the lefties early on in my spells because I personally like the ball going away from the bat. That's my best attacking and defensive option. But it's important to have a mix of both because sometimes if you bowl you googly to lefties then the stumps aren't in play. Perhaps bowling your leg spinner on off stump might bring your stumps in play which can get you LBWs and bowleds. So it's important to use both. That's definitely something that Rashid Khan does really well. Sometimes the batsman goes for a cut shot with Rashid Khan, it spins back at him at pace, and the stumps come out of the ground. I love watching that any day.
What's your favourite form of dismissal in T20s?
Ah, it's going to be LBW and bowled. Perhaps you've done the batsman off the pitch, so you get that wicket. Often stumped is quite good as well when they charge down the wicket and it spins past them quite a lot, that's quite nice. Any wicket is good, man. But those three are probably the best dismissals.
Why do most spinners who are effective in T20 cricket don't replicate their success in Test cricket?
It does require different skills. It requires a huge amount of patience and accuracy. Look at guys like Nathan Lyon, Yasir Shah, these guys are phenomenal Test bowlers. They are really accurate and nail their stock delivery over and over again. If you play T20 cricket, over the years, if you just bowl the stock ball and nothing else then perhaps you might not be as successful as you can be. There has got to be a huge amount of admiration for all bowlers, batsmen and spinners that can be really successful in all three formats because now a days more than ever, with the change of field during fielding restrictions in ODI cricket, it does change the game a lot. And it varies a lot from format to format. Some players are very good at T20 cricket, some at Test cricket, some might be very skilful in one-day cricket but if you find guys that are really good at all three then it takes a lot of work and understanding of the game. Think of guys like Jadejas, Ashwins, your Yasir Shahs and all these great bowlers. There's a huge amount of respect for them to be able to do what they do.
How much research goes into what variation is used against what batsman vs how much is instinct?
We are really fortunate in this era to have a lot of video footage so you might be able to discover trends with certain batsmen over time and then the match-ups can become a little bit clearer. But then when you are out on the field and you sense the batsman is coming after you feel like you might have to bowl a variation then it comes down to instinct. There has to be a mix of both, you can't just be a robot and kind of think of what you are going to do to someone because they might come at you and completely change your plan and that's definitely happened to me in the past like we spoke about earlier with AB de Villiers. The pitch was spinning and I felt like I was going to try and make him keep playing a drive down the ground or something but because it was spinning so prodigiously, he started sweeping and reverse sweeping and then my plans went out of the window so perhaps I felt like I had to bowl a little bit fuller because maybe I should get under the bat while he is sweeping and that's where instinct came into it. But also I probably bought into what he was trying to do to me and that's what makes great players great.
What's your favourite wicket so far in T20s?
It's got to be Virat Kohli. One of the best players of our generation. If you can get him out, it goes a long way in contributing to your team. The time that I got him out, in the T20 World Cup, was a really satisfying wicket for me because that meant that we had them five down. And we could go into the death phase bowling more to the tail-enders than we had to bowl to him.
It was just my first delivery. I tried to bowl the biggest leg spinner I could. I bowled it outside the off stump, he went for a cover drive and nicked it (to the keeper). It doesn't always happen like that because he could have easily missed that ball but thankfully he nicked it first up.
Now-a-days bowlers look to bowl quicker through the air. Is there still a place for traditional giving-it-air spin bowling?
Yeah definitely. Chahal does it and that's what makes him so effective because he's got great control of his pace and he can bowl slow, drift it and spin it. He might bowl a slow and wide one. Santner does the same, sometimes he bowls balls at 75 kmph wide so that the batsman can’t get any pace on the delivery. Kuldeep Yadav does it really well. There's definitely a place for change of pace, especially on good wickets. If you look at Chahal, he’s bowled most of his career at Bangalore and for the majority of his career, it's always been a very batsman-friendly wicket. And he always had the courage to toss the ball up continuously and get lots of wickets and be a really successful bowler for that RCB team. It definitely shows there is a lot of place for it especially if you can do it as well as he does.
You spoke about Chinnaswamy stadium and earlier you had spoken about Eden Park stadium, so how much does the size of the ground play into a bowler's mind before a match?
It's definitely something you have to consider. Because batsmen might play slightly differently on a very small ground than on a big ground so you might take that into consideration in your preparation. The first few times you play on a small ground it's a daunting task but once you have the experience and you've played on it a quite a few times and you may have had a bit of success on it, you realise how to bowl on certain grounds then it becomes a little bit easier and it just something that you have to factor into your preparation.
What next for Ish Sodhi now? How are you looking at the next five years?
In five years’ time I will be 32, so still a reasonably young leg spinner when it comes down to some of the guys I am playing in this Caribbean Premier League. Fawad Ahmed is here, he's about 39-40, I've got Imran Tahir who is 42 and then you've got Pravin Tambe who's come over here who is actually 48 years old. Considering that being 27 years old and having played as much as I have, I’m still a very young leg spinner compared to a lot of the guys here.
I would like to keep continuing to grow, improve. I would love to continue to play as much as I can for NZ and contribute to some wins. The next goal for me is the 2023 World Cup in India. I would love to be able to play a role for NZ and there's obviously a few T20 World Cups leading into that. These are definitely the things that I would target.
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