Ish Sodhi has been rushed into the Black Caps camp at the last minute as New Zealand prepare to open their ODI campaign against Australia in Auckland.
Ish Sodhi Photo: AFP
Following the Black Caps One-Day series win over Pakistan at Eden Park on Sunday, the 23-year-old leg spinner has been called into the squad as a back-up spin option.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said the drop-in pitch at Eden Park was slower and the ball turned more than what he expected against Pakistan.
"We wanted that ability to choose that extra spin bowler if need be and hence why he was drafted into the squad," McCullum said.
"We'll have a look at the wicket in the afternoon when we arrive down here and then we will try and work out what we think is the best team to pick on the conditions that we're presented with."
Meanwhile Australia's in-form batsman Usman Khawaja has been left out of Australia's One-Day cricket side to face the Black Caps in Auckland on Wednesday.
In his last five outings in all forms of the game, Khawaja has averaged 90 runs, but the Australian captain, Steve Smith, has instead opted for Shaun Marsh to open the batting in place of the injured Aaron Finch.
Smith said Khawaja's likely to play in one of the ODI's before the Test series against New Zealand starts later this month.
"He does need a hit going into what's a big Test series for us and he's batting extremely well so he's unlucky to miss out but Shaun's going to get the first opportunity as he played well in Australia and he's batting extremely well as well."
