This 23 year old leg spinner has got a place in New Zealand’s ODI squad.Image Credit source: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images
Deepak Patel, Jeetan Patel, Ish Sodhi, Ejaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra. These are all those names who, despite being of Indian heritage, made their mark across the world through New Zealand cricket. Now a new name is going to be added to it – Aditya Ashok. The first ODI match between India and New Zealand will be played on January 11 in Vadodara and Aditya Ashok can be a special attraction in it. There is curiosity about this Kiwi player of Indian origin and he himself is desperate to prove himself in India.
Born in India, Cricket in New Zealand
However, 23-year-old leg spinner Aditya Ashok will make his debut in 2023. New Zealand He had made his international debut for India but till now he had not got that recognition. This tour of India can give him recognition in the biggest fan base and market of international cricket and especially global cricket. The reason for this is his Indian connection because as an international cricketer, he is going to play for the first time in the country where he was born.
Born in September 2002 in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, Aditya Ashok was just 4 years old when his family shifted to New Zealand. That means his entire cricket journey started from New Zealand, where he also participated in the Under-19 World Cup for this team. He was a part of the 2020 Under-19 World Cup, in which future stars like Yashasvi Jaiswal were playing for India. Jaiswal has since established himself in IPL and international cricket but Ashok has not been able to achieve that position at the moment. This tour can fulfill his dream.
Rajinikanth’s tattoo and CSK connection
According to reports, Ashok is a fan of Tamil films’ biggest superstar Rajinikanth and hence he has got a Tamil dialogue from Rajini’s film printed as a tattoo on his right hand. The meaning of this dialogue in Hindi is – “My way is a different way.” It is not easy for a spinner to leave his mark in New Zealand, the land of fast bowlers, but like many previous Indian-origin spinners, Ashok is also ready to make his place and for this he spent a lot of time at the Chennai Super Kings Academy in Chennai.
Ashok told about this in an interview given to PTI and while sharing his experience said that he learned a lot about spin bowling. Ashok said, “I was lucky that I got the opportunity to learn (at the CSK Academy)… We got a lot of information here, from which we learned and it was quite fun. Like how black soil and red soil pitches behave. This was most important for me and through this I am building my library as a cricketer, which is most important.”
VIDEO | Here’s what Vellore-born New Zealand spinner Adithya Ashok had to say ahead of the ODI series against India.
“First of all, just on the experience in Chennai, I was very fortunate to get that opportunity. I am grateful for the opportunity from New Zealand Cricket to send pic.twitter.com/QuyeQZx3r9
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 9, 2026
How is Aditya Ashok’s career?
Aditya Ashok has played 3 matches for New Zealand including ODI and T20 and has taken 2 wickets. However, his performance in domestic cricket is better than this. He has taken 78 wickets in 23 first class matches. He has taken 52 wickets in 39 List A matches. Apart from this, he has taken 31 wickets in 32 T20 matches.