Pretty excited about chance to play six Test matches in the sub-continent: New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel

New Delhi: Ahead of the one-off Test against Afghanistan on Monday, New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel said he is thrilled about the prospect of playing six Tests on the trot in Asia.

Patel, who earned the distinction of being only the third men’s cricketer to claim 10 wickets in a Test innings after Jim Laker and Anil Kumble, has played 16 matches in the longer format so far – eleven of those appearances have come in Asia.

“If you ask all New Zealand spinners, it is difficult. Sometimes, obviously, you don’t get as many opportunities at home because of our home conditions. But it breeds more hunger when you do come to conditions like this, and you know conditions that are spin-friendly and you’re quite hungry to get out there and play and put your best foot forward and perform.”

“It always depends on conditions and it depends on the form and you making sure that you play well, so you don’t take it lightly. But it is a great opportunity with obviously so many games in Asia to then kind of you know have those opportunities as a spinner. So it’s something that I’m looking forward to. I’m pretty excited about it,” said Patel to reporters after New Zealand’s first training session at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex Ground on Friday.

Asked about the feeling of him not being a constant in the New Zealand team after achieving that historic feat of taking ten wickets in a Test innings against India at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Ajaz remarked, “Look, I think you know we’re in a professional environment and for us it’s really important to just go out there and continue to work on our game and keep improving and keep growing.”

“I guess after the ten wickets, obviously, you’re a little bit disappointed because you don’t get as many opportunities but at the same time as a player, it’s still about growing your game and it’s an opportunity to develop and grow. I mean since my ten wickets, I’ve somewhat remodelled my run-up and look to grow myself and try and get better.”

“So it’s always about improving and making sure that you’re ready whenever that next opportunity comes and putting your hand up. It’s always a privilege to play for New Zealand and certainly playing for your country. It’s never easy to get those opportunities, It’s always quite special.”

Patel also sounded excited about the opportunity to pick the brains of Sri Lanka’s former left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who has joined the Test team for a short stint. “If you look at me and you look at Rangana, we’re pretty similar in terms of our build and body types. While developing and growing my spin, I kind of watched him with a lot of admiration.”

“So really, really special to have him here, and for me, it’s a great opportunity to spend some time with him and really understand how he crafted spin bowling. He was obviously very, very successful and a phenomenal bowler so it’s just a great opportunity for me personally and to learn a lot from him.”

He signed off by saying New Zealand do have certain plans up their sleeve to counter the challenge from Afghanistan. “We have come up with a game plan. We know Afghanistan are a quality team and obviously, they don’t have as much experience. But they’ll certainly put up a good fight and certainly grow from every experience that they get and have. So we’re not going to take them lightly and then there’s a lot of cricket to look forward to.”

–IANS