Ish Sodhi, the New Zealand leg-spinner, will feature in IPL 2021 in a managerial role. After going unsold at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, he has now been signed as the team liaison officer by the Rajasthan Royals, a franchise he played for in 2018 and 2019.
Sodhi will work closely with Kumar Sangakkara, the team's new Director of Cricket, and Jake Lush McCrum, the chief operating officer, thereby contributing "both towards cricket and operations vertical".
"The Royals are an innovative, dynamic franchise that plays an entertaining brand of cricket, and I am delighted to rejoin my IPL family to work across the board," he said in a statement.
The New Zealander was supposed to act as a spin consultant and operations executive in IPL2020, however, he couldn't take up the role because the IPL's change of schedule from the regular April-May window to mid-September clashed with New Zealand's domestic season and the birth of his first child.
"Last year I expressed my interest in exploring the management side of the franchise, and the Royals management team was very supportive, offering me a role to enable me to begin my off-field journey," he said. "I'm looking forward to supporting the coaches and the business operations of the team through which I'll really develop my cricketing and management skills."
While he isn't part of New Zealand's Test plans now, he's still on their radar for limited-overs cricket and is currently part of the squad for the five-match T20I series at home against Australia. He is also active in a few other T20 leagues, particularly in the CPL, where he currently represents St Kitts & Nevis Patriots.
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
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