Ajaz Patel’s historic feat of taking 10 wickets in a Test innings was not enough to secure his place in New Zealand’s squad for a home series against Bangladesh.
Off-spinner Ajaz Patel became only the third player in test history _ after England’s Jim Laker and India’s Anil Kumble _ to take all 10 wickets in an innings when he claimed 10-119 in the second Test against India earlier this month. But Ajaz Patel was absent from New Zealand’s 13-man squad for a two-test series against Bangladesh, beginning on January 1, 2022.
Ajaz Patel Not Picked For Two Tests Against Visitors Bangladesh As New Zealand Conditions Favour Pacers: Gary Stead Defends Selections
The 13 man squad includes fast bowlers Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, Neil Wagner, and Matt Henry along with medium pace allrounder Daryl Mitchell and only one spin option, allrounder Rachin Ravindra. The tests will be played at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui and Hagley Oval in Christchurch at New Zealand which is expected to favour quicker bowlers.
“You do feel for Ajaz after his record-breaking display in India,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “However, we’ve always applied a horses-for-courses selection policy and believe the players selected best fit the way we want to take on Bangladesh here at home.”
“We feel having both Rachin and Daryl in the squad gives us a nice balance and the ability to pick a side best suited to the conditions we expect.”
New Zealand’s left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel picked up all 10-wickets in an innings in the second Test against India. Notably, the spinner became only the third bowler in the history of Test cricket to take all 10 wickets in an innings, joining Jim Laker and Anil Kumble, who had achieved the milestone in 1956 and 1999 respectively.
He also registered the best figures for a bowler against India in Test cricket. India registered a record 372 runs win over New Zealand in the second Test and sealed the two-match Test series 1-0.
Tom Latham Will Captain New Zealand In The Absence Of Injured Kane Williamson While Devon Conway Will Return
Tom Latham will captain New Zealand in the absence of Kane Williamson, who has an elbow injury, and Devon Conway will return to the squad after breaking his hand at the Twenty20 World Cup last month. Devon Conway, who had been ruled out of the T20 World Cup final against Australia in the UAE and the subsequent India tour with a bizarre self-inflicted hand injury, returned to the squad.
“It’s obviously disappointing not to have Kane available for this series but, as we noted in India, he is undergoing a sustained period of rest followed by rehabilitation, strengthening, and gradual batting loading,” Stead said. “We have every confidence in Tom leading the side. He’s done an excellent job in the past when called upon.”
Ajaz Patel concluded the 2nd Test match against India with statistics of 14/225, while regular skipper Kane Williamson also missed the 2nd Test against India for an elbow injury. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will be sidelined by an elbow tendon injury for at least two months, coach Gary Stead confirmed.
Trent Boult, who had opted out of the India tour because of bubble fatigue, was also back in the side as New Zealand ponder unleashing their four-pronged pace pack on Bangladesh. Ross Taylor, who had a horror tour of India, managing a mere 20 runs across four innings, retained his place in the Test squad.
He is three Tests away from surpassing Daniel Vettori as New Zealand’s most capped player in the format. Colin de Grandhomme, who had also opted out of the India tour, was omitted from this squad.
New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, Will Young.