Spin magician Ish Sodhi
by Metros Marketing | September 30, 2026 8:35 am
Christchurch is about to go cricket crazy. Two historic international T20 matches and a Test Match between the BLACKCAPS and India at Hagley Oval this spring will fix millions of global viewers on our city. At the heart of it is Christchurch’s own Ish Sodhi, right-arm leg-spin bowler extraordinaire. Deputy editor Tamara Pitelen catches up with Ish as he prepares for the clash of the cricket titans.
“I think ‘obsessed’ is a really good word to describe my feelings around cricket. I’m absolutely obsessed with the game. I’m besotted. You know, like the first time you fall in love, or your first girlfriend? I feel that way about bowling leg spin and cricket, which is my craft.”
It is no exaggeration to say that Christchurch-based Kiwi cricketer Ish Sodhi lives and breathes cricket. He and I are catching up as he counts down to one of the biggest cricket clashes of the decade. The ultimate curtain-raiser for the global cricket season, Hagley Oval will host two international T20 matches between the BLACKCAPS and India on 22 and 24 October and a Test Match from 27 November.
I cannot overstate how big this news is to cricket followers. The high-octane energy of India is the biggest drawcard in world cricket. For Hagley Oval, this is the major event of the season, especially as the matches form part of a national programme of events marking a centenary of sporting ties between New Zealand and India that dates back to a 1926 tour by the Indian Army hockey team. The Sport New Zealand-led 100 Years of Unity through Sport celebrations will also see the All Whites take on India in Christchurch on 15 November. And Ish Sodhi is right at the heart of it. Known for his bowling flair and a magical alchemy when the ball leaves his hand, the 33-year-old leg-spinner and lower-order batsman is one of our biggest weapons in the upcoming clash.
Cricket craze
“It’s not only the fact that India are coming here,” Ish tells me. “They’re coming here for historically the biggest tour a touring side has ever done. Five T20 internationals. Three ODIs and two Test matches. The fact that India are coming to do that shows that New Zealand cricket is in a really good place.”
In other words, says Ish, it’s a big compliment to the BLACKCAPS that India thinks they’re worthy opponents.
“It’s phenomenal to be able to commemorate a tour 100 years ago that brought India and New Zealand closer together. I’m a Kiwi who represents New Zealand, but I’m also an Indian-born person. Being that bridge between the two cultures is something I take a lot of pride in. I speak English with a real thick Kiwi accent, but I can still speak Punjabi, which is my native language. I look forward to celebrating how far New Zealand cricket has come and how big a part India has played in that.
“The stadium will be packed, and the city will be absolutely vibing. The only challenge being a Kiwi playing against India is all the Indian supporters. There is this sea of blue in the stands. I’m hoping the Kiwis turn up to match the passion of this Indian crowd. Christchurch is a great place to do that because of its rich cricket history. There are so many cricket lovers here. It is a really big, exciting time for sport in our country.”
All about Ish
Born in Punjab, India, Ish’s family moved to New Zealand when he was aged four. While he’s lived in Christchurch since 2018, he grew up in South Auckland, which is where a chance encounter with then New Zealand cricketer Dipak Patel changed the course of his life. He tells me about the moment he caught the cricket bug.
“The first time I felt that obsession was at 12 years old. I was always a fast bowler, but at 12, I was put in front of an amazing mentor called Dipak Patel, a Kiwi cricketer in the 90s. At the time, there weren’t so many players of Indian ethnicity, and he was looking for spin bowlers. In a bid to impress him, I decided to bowl spin. I remember that first spin delivery. It came out really nice, the ball went down there, it did some crazy things in the air and spun off the ground. That was the day that I really fell in love with the game. In the 21 years since then, I don’t think that obsession has died. If anything, it’s probably got stronger.”
Leg spin bowling, Ish tells me, is widely known in cricket as the toughest art to perfect. He tries to tell me how he does it.
“It’s wrist spin bowling. If you grab a ball and make your wrist quite floppy, you spin it from right to left. The great challenge is that your momentum’s going forward, but the momentum of your wrist is going sideways. So to get the ball to land in an area that you want is often quite difficult; hence, why it’s such a difficult art. But honestly, when it’s done right, it’s like poetry.”
Shane Warne, he says, is a personal hero and the greatest leg spinner of all time. “As a boy, I was addicted to watching him bowl. He really shaped my love of leg spin bowling as a youth. The chance to meet him was one of the most pivotal moments in my career.”
To finish up, I ask Ish what motivates him to get up every day and put his heart and soul into cricket.
“Number one, I’m representing my country, New Zealand.
I feel this immense pride walking out on the park with a fern on my chest. Underneath the fern lies my home, my family, friends, and just the ground that I walk on. I’m obsessed with this place; it’s the best country in the world to live, and having lived in Christchurch for the last eight years, I’ve got a great affinity with the city.
I play for Canterbury. My daughter was born at Christchurch Hospital, about a 250-metre walk from the ground that I play.
I just absolutely love playing for this country.”
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Quickfire with Ish
Are leg spin bowlers made or born? I’m not saying it’s a gift that you’re born with because I’m certainly aware that you can learn new skills, but I think sometimes with leg spin, it’s such a unique art that if you’ve got it, you’ve got it. And I’ve always found that leg spinners are a certain type. I’ve never met a plain Jane leg spinner; they tend to be eccentric. Odd people gravitate to leg spin, and I’m just so proud to wear the odd flag.
What do you love about life in Christchurch? The ease of living here. My daughter Dahlia’s school is just three minutes from our house and Hagley Oval is five minutes in the other direction. We’ve got the state-of-the-art, high-performance gym at Parakiore so once I’ve done my workout, it’s a five-minute commute to Hagley Oval for skills training. Then at 2pm I have a nice stroll through Hagley Park to pick Dahlia up from school, which I love because I’m an avid birdwatcher and I love seeing kererū in their natural habitat, especially in spring because honestly Christchurch is just so beautiful.
Favourite spot to spend a Sunday? When the sun’s out, I love a nice platter of cheese and salami and a nice glass of wine at Cellar Door.
Your go-to café? My favourite is Noki on Papanui Road. They do the best kimchi cheese scone.
Top nutrition hack? Always have protein powder handy. Never leave the house without protein powder.
Best part of being a dad? Learning new skills like how to tie a child’s hair.
Are you hoping Dahlia picks up a cricket ball? Oh it’s hard, I don’t want to be that parent that really pushes her too hard. But she’s a left-armer, which means she could be a niggly little left-arm swing bowler, which is just a cheat code. But at the moment she loves tennis. I did ask her the other day; I said, ‘Darling, do you like sports?’ And she was like, ‘Dad, I’m so sorry, but unfortunately I do not.’
How do you relax? I just love nature and native birds in New Zealand. I try to immerse myself in the sounds of birds. Recently I’ve been trying to do a few more hikes so I can get into beautiful parts of nature.
What are you reading? A book called Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. It’s about a café in Tokyo where customers travel back in time.
Music? I love music. I grew up on hip hop and R&B. That sort of rap in the 90s and 2000s was massive where we grew up in South Auckland. But I’d say nowadays my favourite genre has almost gone back to the 90s and 2000s, sort of punky rock like Blink 182, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, that sort of thing.
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Hagley Oval will host two international T20 matches between the BLACKCAPS and India on 22 and 24 October and a Test Match from 27 November to 1 December.
Source URL: https://metropol.co.nz/spin-magician-ish-sodhi/