Ajaz Patel. (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)
MUMBAI: Soaking in an emotional return to a venue in which he created history three years ago by becoming only the third bowler to claim the ‘perfect 10’ ,
New Zealand
‘s left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, who hails from Jogeshwari in Mumbai and still has many relatives here, confessed that he didn’t even imagine coming back to the
Wankhede Stadium
to play a Test again.
“Being back in Mumbai is always quite special and it’s a place I call home as well. Having the opportunity to play out here again is quite special. After my 10-wicket haul, I wasn’t sure whether I’d get another opportunity to play here throughout my career,” the 36-year-old said, sporting a wide smile, during a media interaction at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.
While he didn’t remember much about the pitch for that Test, in which he took 14-225 (10-119, 4-106) , the tweaker did say that the pitch for the upcoming Test, which will start on Friday, looked different from the one on December 2021. “My memory is very poor, so I don’t exactly remember the surface that well but one thing I do remember was it looked a lot drier to start with,” he said.
How much fortunes change for cricketers with every tour can be gauged from the fact that this time, the spotlight is also on Patel’s fellow left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, who destroyed India in the Pune Test on a turning track with sensational match figures of 13 for 157 (7-53 & 6-104). Patel said that he was just happy to play second fiddle to Santner, while exerting pressure on India from the other end.
“It’s about looking at what roles you’re playing for the team. Mitch (Santner) was bowling exceptionally well from the other end so for me it was important that from my end while I’m still trying to take wickets, I’m also performing the holding role and trying to restrict the flow of runs. The way Mitch was bowling, there was no real need for me to try too many things. It was about trying to keep it as simple as possible. Going into a new surface and a new game that may completely flip,” he said.