Ish Sodhi praises MS Dhoni, says he can slow down games & respond to situations

There is no dearth of admirers for former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Though he has left the captaincy of the national team two years ago, yet the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman continues to impress the cricketing world with his skill when he leads the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Among his innumerable admirers is New Zealand’s India-born spinner Ish Sodhi.

The 26-year-old leg-spinner, who made it to New Zealand’s squad for the upcoming World Cup in England, recently praised Dhoni for his ability to read the game. He said the Indian cricketer has a great ability to control match situations by slowing the pace of T20 games and that is something everybody should learn from him.

Sodhi though said that it doesn’t always help one to win a game by tweaking with mind games but he also admitted that he helps to at least set the tone.

Mental clarity is important

“I think mental clarity on one’s role is very important. The ability to slow the game right down and that’s something that I am starting to really respect and understand watching MS Dhoni when he plays, looks like he really slows the game down, understands exactly what he needs to do and then goes out and tries to achieve that.

Players may not win you every single game like that but they will come quite close and put up consistent performances,” Scroll.in cited reports as quoting Sodhi who has 123 international wickets in 17 Tests, 30 ODIs and 33 T20Is. The leggie made his international debut in 2013 when he appeared in an away Test against Bangladesh.

“I suppose consistency comes from a really clear mindset. That’s what we are striving for as cricketers, it’s nice to contribute once in a while, that’s amazing to contribute to wins. But contributing over a long period of time, I think is what separates the class players from the world-class players,” the man, who has three Test fifties and 10 in first-class cricket, added.

Sodhi is a member of the Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing IPL and played his first game on Tuesday, against Kings XI Punjab, in Mohali. He took the wicket of Mayank Agarwal but conceded 41 runs in four overs.

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