David Leggat: Bowling dilemma nice problem to have

Ish Sodhi, our leading spinner, is expected to be named in the first test squad for Eden Park. Photo / Getty Images

Adam Milne and Ish Sodhi, young bowlers with bright futures, present a couple of dilemmas for New Zealand's selectors during the Indian tour. Nice problems, mind you.

Take speedster Milne first. He has excited fans with his speed - and wickets - in the two T20s against the West Indies.

Now, after comments by national coach and selector Mike Hesson, he's shaping as a key figure in New Zealand's ODI battle plan against India.

Hesson talked of wanting aggression from the bowlers in terms of the pace and areas New Zealand will be aiming for. He has preached of the need to attack, not to simply sit back and try to deny India's batsmen. That all sounds like a cue for Milne and bouncy leftarmer Mitchell McClenaghan.

''You're actually trying to make things happen. We've got a few guys who do that naturally, so we'll certainly be encouraging that," Hesson said.

New Zealand will have taken note of India's last overseas tour, to South Africa, when the hosts came at the Indians hard and it paid off in the form of test and ODI series victories.

This is not to compare Milne, a 21-year-old finding his feet in the national team after a couple of false starts while in his teens, with the champion Dale Steyn and his fast-medium chums, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel.

But Milne has that quality which has fans on the edge of their seats and batsmen, no matter how good, on their toes.

Depending on how he bowls, he could play most, if not all the ODIs. As for the test squad, assuming all has gone well to that point, at the very least the selectors will need to think seriously about his test credentials.

How the selectors handle Milne will be among the more fascinating individual elements of the ODI series.

And Sodhi? The country's leading spinner is expected to be named in the first test squad for Eden Park.

The legspinner has played New Zealand's last five tests, taking 11 wickets at a pricey 51 apiece against Bangladesh and the West Indies.

But this is India and there's an old line about their best batsmen eating spin for breakfast. To extrapolate that, bowl it well or don't bowl it at all.

And yet their batsmen can be undone by really classy spin bowling as much as anyone.

Sodhi is an up-and-comer, is confident and the best operator New Zealand have.

New Zealand will want the spin option but their fingers will be crossed that Sodhi, if he is picked for Eden Park next month, starts strongly and well.

Should classy batsman Virat Kohli and company get stuck into him, the head scratching will start.