Daniel Vettori is a master of drift, subtle variations in flight, speed and length. The combination makes him a fabulous T20 bowler. Add his lower-order batting to that equation and you have yourself a hell of an addition to your T20 line-up.

Easily, one of New Zealand’s greatest-ever cricketers, Vettori is considered the greatest exponent of left-arm orthodox spin since Bishen Singh Bedi.

Often bearing the brunt of being New Zealand’s sole wicket-taker except when Shane Bond would play, had the added bonus of making him very marketable as the face of the Kiwi side and soon the Indian Premier League (IPL) would come calling.

Vettori was bought for US$625,000 in the inaugural season of the IPL by the Delhi Daredevils with teammate and skipper Virender Sehwag calling him the best spinner in the world. He would go on to captain the Royal Challengers Bangalore, leading them to the 2011 final.

Career Statistics (2006-2015)

Full name: Daniel Luca Vettori

Born: January 27, 1979 (41), Auckland

Major teams: New Zealand, Delhi Daredevils, ICC World XI, Jamaica Tallawahs, Northern Districts, Nottinghamshire, Queensland, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Warwickshire

Playing role: Allrounder

Batting style: Left-hand bat

Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox

T20I Career – New Zealand

Mat   Inns   Balls   Runs   Wkts   BBI      BBM    Ave     Econ    SR     4w    5w    10w

34       34     787     748       38     4/20     4/20    19.68   5.70    20.7     1        0      0

T20 Career

Mat   Inns   Balls    Runs     Wkts   BBI      BBM    Ave    Econ    SR     4w    5w    10w

143    143    3236    3424       131    4/20     4/20    26.13   6.34    24.7     1      0         0

Career Highlights

• Took 38 T20I wickets at 19.68
• Record best T20I economy rate (5.70)
• 1 four-wicket haul in T20I
• 131 T20 wickets captured at 26.13

He began as a left-arm spinner but gradually established himself as more of an all-rounder in the Test arena. With his preference for good technique, his batting did not flourish in the ODI game, but he was still a useful lower-order, left-handed batsman with four half-centuries.

He was the youngest New Zealander to play One Day International cricket, just as was the case for Tests.

Gradually the drift became more pronounced; the spin and bounce more controlled and cannier. Today, Vettori is New Zealand's leading ODI wicket-taker.

Career Statistics

Full name: Daniel Luca Vettori

Born: January 27, 1979 (age 41), Auckland, New Zealand

Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)

Batting style: Left-handed

Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox

Playing role: Allrounder

ODI Career: New Zealand (1997-2015)

Mat      Inns      Balls     Runs     Wkts    BBI    BBM     Ave       Econ     SR      4w    5w    10w

295       277       14060    9674     305       5/7     5/7      31.71     4.12      46.0     8        2       0

Career Highlights

• Took 305 wickets from 295 matches at 31.71
• Most wickets by a Kiwi in ODIs
• Eight 4-wicket hauls and two 5-wicket hauls in ODIs

As one of only eight players to score 3000 runs and take 300 wickets, Daniel Vettori’s long graft in Test cricket has left him in the realm of the all-time greats. The left-arm orthodox spinner, at 18 years old, became the youngest player to player to play Test cricket for New Zealand. Most decidedly a bowling allrounder, although it would be remiss of his opponents to ignore his ability with the bat, Vettori held mastership over the subtle art of drift and variations in flight. Vettori was also a thinking bowler and would invariably keep changing his plans to a batsman until he found one that worked.

With the bat, Vettori would come in at number eight, and became the best at it, rescuing New Zealand time and again. Just as he was a bowler who depended on logic and sound reasoning to work out what to do next, so he was with the bat, assessing a situation and deciding what tac to take to bring his team positive results.

Career Statistics

Full name: Daniel Luca Vettori

Born: January 27, 1979, Auckland

Major teams: New Zealand, Delhi Daredevils, ICC World XI, Jamaica Tallawahs, Northern Districts, Nottinghamshire, Queensland, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Warwickshire

Playing role: Allrounder

Batting style: Left-hand bat

Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox

Test Career (Batting): New Zealand (1997-2014)

Mat    Inns    NO     Runs    HS    Ave       BF       SR      100s    50s 

113     174     23       4531    140   30.00    7787    58.18      6       23  

Test Career (Bowling): New Zealand (1997-2014)

Mat    Inns    Balls     Runs     Wkts    BBI     BBM       Ave      Econ    SR      4w     5w     10w

113     187     28814   12441     362      7/87    12/149   34.36    2.59     79.5     19       20       3

Career Highlights

• 1 of 3 players with 4000 runs and 300 wickets in Tests
• Amassed 4531 runs at 30.00
• Secured 362 wickets at 34.26