Ajaz Patel, a New Zealand spinner on Tuesday said that he “would love to play in the Indian Premier League” if an opportunity comes knocking on his door.
In an exclusive chat, the off-spinner spoke about his aspirations of playing in the cash-rich league, saying it would be a “privilege” to participate in IPL in India.
Ajaz Patel Would Be Privileged If Opportunity Comes To Bag An IPL Contract
Ajaz Patel concluded the 2nd Test match with statistics of 14/225. However, the Black Caps were defeated by India in the second Test by 372 runs. The 33-year-old stated that he is willing to participate in the IPL if he is selected by any of the teams and described the cash-rich competition as an incredible tournament.
“Yeah, hopefully, if the opportunity presents itself, I would love to play in the IPL [Indian Premier League] in India,” the left-arm orthodox spinner said.
Ajaz Patel also heaped praise on the quality of the league and what it meant for cricket fans around the world.
“It’s an amazing tournament. Everyone follows it really closely and it brings a lot of cheers and thrills around the world. So, it’s a great tournament and I will be privileged if the opportunity came,” he added.
Ajaz Patel became the talk of the town when he took all 10 Indian wickets in the first innings of the second Test match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Ajaz Patel has represented the Kiwis in 7 T20Is, picking up 11 wickets at an economy rate of below 5 averaging a mere 10.72. He has also taken 73 wickets from 62 T20 games at an economy rate of 7.54 in the shortest format of the game. He has 43 scalps in 11 Tests averaging 27.13.
Ajaz Patel Becomes Only 3rd Bowler To Take All 10 Scalps In An Innings After Jim Laker And Anil Kumble
With this feat, he joined an elite list of cricketers to have taken a perfect 10. In 1956, England spinner Jim Laker tormented the Australian team in The Ashes with 10 wickets in an innings to become the first player to achieve the feat. Indian spinner Anil Kumble joined Jim Laker with an epic 10-wicket haul in an innings in the Delhi Test against Pakistan in 1999.
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Ajaz Patel’s phenomenal feat however ended in a losing cause as New Zealand went down by 372 runs and lost the two-match series 0-1 to India. Despite the attention he has received as a result of his recent success in India, Ajaz wishes to remain grounded and not let stardom go to his head. Ajaz Patel became the series’ leading wicket-taker, with 17 wickets from two games at an average of 22.06.