Who is Adithya Ashok who is playing against India in IND vs NZ 1st ODI ?

The first ODI of the India vs New Zealand series is underway in Vadodara. While BCCI assembles a strong squad for the series, New Zealand puts a bet on some of their young cricketers anchored by multiple experienced players. The touring team, captained by Michael Bracewell, named Adithya Ashok in the playing combination for today's game.

Who is Adithya Ashok?

From the name it is clear that the Kiwi cricketer has an Indian connection. Actually, he was from Tamil Nadu, and he later moved to New Zealand. This was due to his parents' move to New Zealand to pursue their careers. Aditya grew up in Auckland and learned the basics of cricket there. According to a Cricbuzz report, Ashok made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in December 2023, having earlier played his only T20I against UAE in August 2023. With his spin bowling abilities, he has bagged 78 first-class wickets, with a best of 7 for 103, along with 52 List-A wickets and 31 T20 wickets. 

Before putting his feet into the senior cricket team of New Zealand, he featured in the 2020 Under 19 World Cup, where he went to play against the emerging Indian cricket talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Tilak Varma, and many others.

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Ashok’s international appearances demonstrated his role as a containing leg-spinner who could apply pressure, support attacking bowlers, and adapt to different conditions. While Adithya is touring India with the New Zealand cricket team for the first time, he has visited India as a player before. He has trained at the Chennai Super Kings academy. 

IND vs NZ 1st ODI playing XIs:

New Zealand—Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay (WK), Michael Bracewell (C), Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke (on ODI debut), Kyle Jamieson, and Adithya Ashok.

India – Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.