Why Ish Sodhi is Not Playing Today in NZ vs UAE T20 World Cup 2026?

The 11th match of T20 World Cup 2026 is being played between UAE and New Zealand. UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem won the toss and decided to bat first. While the Kiwis are playing their second match of the tournament, the UAE team is just starting its campaign.

As this match is getting played in the MA Chidambaram Stadium, it was surprising to see the absence of NZ leg-spinner Ish Sodhi from the playing 11. Sodhi is one of the best T20 bowlers in the world and has been playing this format for some time now, with over 162 wickets in T20 internationals for New Zealand.

Why Ish Sodhi is Not Playing Today Against UAE?

The pitches in Chennai this year have been the least turning so far. The surface for the NZ vs UAE T20 World Cup 2026 match has quite some grass on it, which makes it more suitable for seamers.

It is likely to be the reason behind Ish Sodhi's continued absence in this game. Although, Sodhi's bowling record in India has been naturally good, he has been left out of both the matches so far. He was also part of the NZ team during the last T20I series in India, where his performance was not promising and he went for plenty of runs.

After the first match against Afghanistan, it was expected that Sodhi would be included in the second match against the UAE on the same ground. However, the NZ team management decided to go with James Neesham, who can be considered as Ish Sodhi replacement for this match. Neesham is not just a fast bowling option for his team, but he can also fulfill the position of someone who can bat in the lower order and deliver some crucial runs.

NZ Thrash UAE Despite Ish Sodhi's Absence

With no Ish Sodhi in the playing 11, NZ's two frontline spinners were Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips. While Santner showed why he is one of the best spinners in the world with figures of 1-23 in four overs, Phillips went for 30 runs in two overs and picked up a solitary wicket.

All-rounder Rachin Ravindra also bowled two overs in which he went for 19 runs without picking up any wicket. UAE scored a fighting 173-6 in 20 overs and it seemed like the match would go down to the wire.

However, NZ's openers, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen, chased down the target with quite ease through their high-class batting performance. New Zealand chased down the target by 10 wickets with 28 balls to spare.