It’s been a turbulent few days for New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel as the spinner became only third bowler in the history of Test cricket to take 10 wickets in an innings of a Test match. This achievement only proved to be a silver lining on the dark cloud as he ended on the losing side. While Zealand registered their worse defeat in Test cricket in terms of runs, the match will still go down as a moment of history for Ajaz.
In an exclusive interview with Sports Tak, Ajaz spoke about the different challenges that pace bowlers and spinners face in the conditions.
“The conditions are different in India and New Zealand. In New Zealand, you never know, because the conditions are not favorable for spinners and it's tough to be a pace bowler in a country like India. I have witnessed the likes of Ashwin and company and I don’t think I would have been a pace bowler had I played in Indian conditions,” the 33-year-old said when asked about Indian conditions in the two countries.
“Yes it was challenging as I gave good performances at the Under-19 level for Auckland but it was ultimately down to the level of play. I didn’t want to stop there and wanted to play at a higher level. There were physical as well as mental challenges; It wasn’t about developing spin techniques but also about the mentality as well. There were question marks as to whether I could succeed as a seamer, could I succeed as a spinner. The dream was always to play for New Zealand, but challenges like would I succeed, always surrounded my mind. My family supported me a lot during the crucial period along with my coaches who all supported gave me confidence and demanded a lot from me in terms of efforts,” the Kiwi spinner spoke on his switch to spin bowler after starting his career as a pacer.
The spinner started his career as a seam bowler but turned spinner in the challenging conditions to be part of the team. He mainly believes that the level of opposition drives a player’s desire to achieve notable success. Bowling to Virat Kohli was a stern challenge for him and picking a wicket of a player like him only adds another feather to the cap according to him.
The left-arm spinner will have the unique distinction of being the only left-arm bowler to pick up 10 wickets in an innings of a Test match. Ajaz is a fluent speaker of Hindi and highlighted his time in Mumbai where he spent his childhood in the streets of Mumbai. Ajaz will be in action in the series against Australia at the end of January.
