Ish Sodhi

'I'd really enjoy the opportunity to play the World Cup' – Ish Sodhi

Ish Sodhi

"I think it [World Cup] is the best white-ball tournament," Sodhi told ESPNcricinfo. "Being quite a tragic and historian of the game, I'd really enjoy the chance and opportunity to play the World Cup. I am still hoping for the opportunity."

In 2019, Sodhi played five ODIs at home – three against Sri Lanka and two against India. He was wicketless against a strong India side who won the five-match series 4-1, however, in New Zealand's sweep over Sri Lanka, he was economical and also picked up the most wickets in the series.

"It was fantastic to play that full series against Sri Lanka, and contribute to a few wins," he says. "You can be relatively aggressive while still trying to keep the run rate down. I think your key job is to get wickets. It is definitely a role I really enjoyed playing and to be able to contribute was really special."

Sodhi, who has made 30 ODI appearances for New Zealand, admitted bowling against the likes of England and India, who he also said are going to be the favourites in the upcoming 50-over tournament, one must be on the feet against their top players.

"Interestingly, all of [England batsmen] are 360-degree players," Sodhi says. "They reverse-sweep, they sweep quite hard. They use their feet. You have to keep things simple and almost allow the batsmen to make mistakes, as opposed to trying to set them up. Adil Rashid sometimes bats at No. 11, so they bat all the way down, and they can be hard to contain.

"You have to trust that you get something out of the wicket [against India] even though sometimes the pitches are quite flat. You have to bowl with an aggressive mindset. They are really good at the tempo of the innings.

"They can recognise the threat and feed off other options that aren't bowling as well that day. It is important to recognise how they are looking to play you, and then make the plan. You have to think on your feet against great players."

New Zealand will be announcing their 15-member Wolrd Cup squad on Wednesday, 3 April.

Ish Sodhi 10/31/1992New ZealandCricket World Cup