New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi heaped effusive praise over the Virat Kohli-led Indian side saying he has a lot of respect for guys like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and his friend Yuzvendra Chahal, who are all part of a team culture that is commendably willing to share its expertise with the opponent.
Sodhi has been speaking to his Indian counterparts, hoping to pick up their brains ahead of the two-match Test series, beginning in Wellington on February 21.
WATCH - Rishabh Pant extracts revenge from Ish Sodhi; hits couple of sixes
"You start off with respect and want to tap into their brains. These are all very helpful guys more than willing to share their experiences," PTI quoted the Ludhiana-born 27-year-old as saying. “Chahal is a great person to tap into. He is completely a different bowler, big-hearted. It is great to rub shoulders with these guys and listen to their experiences."
Feeling enamoured by their skillset, Sodhi thinks "it's crazy" how good Ashwin and Jadeja are. "I was speaking to Jadeja the other day about how he goes on with his training. Talking to Ashwin about the carrom ball and the googly he bowls despite being an off-spinner. It’s crazy," he said.
Sodhi also likes to talk to flamboyant strokemakers such as Rishabh Pant in hope to try and fully understand what kind of deliveries these batsmen go after the spinners on.
"Like Rishabh, who is one of the most destructive hitters of spin," he said. "I would ask him what are the lengths that are hardest to hit. I have never seen someone with that kind of reach when he is attacking the spinners."
Sodhi, who has been playing for the Black Caps for a while now, got the great Kohli out with an absolute peach of a delivery that went through the gate to dislodge his middle-stump during the ODI series; however, he doesn't think there is any weakness in Kohli's game against leg-spinners.
"Even though leg spinners get him out, he scores a lot of runs off them as well," he said. "Virat is a batsman you need to constantly attack or else he puts the pressure back on you. You need to come up with plans and be really courageous while bowling to him."
Looking ahead to the Test series, Sodhi threw some light on the role of the spinners in pace bowling friendly conditions of New Zealand.
"Spinners would need to keep the stumps in play (bowl the stump line). In NZ, even for those who turn the ball away from right handers, LBW is the mode of dismissal. Keeping it nice and straight. You have to be smart with your fields for Indian batsmen," he said.
"You need to have people at the boundary as these are guys who are very good at picking the length."
“Hagley Oval (venue for the second Test in Christchurch) is supposed to be quickest in our country," Sodhi added. "One of the bounciest as well. With a bit of grass cover, it could be quite challenging if seam bowlers get it right. It will be old fashioned Test cricket, a battle of attrition."
(Inputs from PTI)
