Imagine being a frontline spinner from a country that is known to produce world-class fast bowlers. Imagine then touring a tough place like India and grabbing a historic all-ten in only your 11th Test. Now imagine still not becoming a frontline spinner for your team and getting to feature in only five of the next 19 Tests your team goes on to play. That's the life of left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel.
The saving grace is that whenever New Zealand have toured Asia since his ten-for, Ajaz has played in all four Tests. Ajaz is aware of team combination and conditions, but isn't it still a bit disappointing to hardly get to play in other countries?
"If you ask all New Zealand spinners, it is difficult," Ajaz said, three days before the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Greater Noida. "Sometimes, 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 put your best foot forward.
"But it's really important that you do prepare accordingly and prepare well. So it's just about going into these games and really enjoying the conditions and making the most of it.
"We are 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. After the ten wickets, you're a little bit disappointed to not get as many opportunities but at the same time it's still about growing your game and it's an opportunity to develop and grow. Since my ten wickets, I have somewhat remodelled my run-up. So it's always about improving and making sure that you are ready whenever that next opportunity comes and put your hand up."
After playing just five Tests in the last two and a half years, Ajaz could now go on to play six in just two months. After the Afghanistan Test, New Zealand will fly to Sri Lanka for two Tests and then return to India for three more. Form and fitness permitting, it could be a one-of-a-kind opportunity for Ajaz because once they leave India in November, their next trip to Asia for Tests, according to the Future Tours Programme, is in February 2027.
"It always depends on conditions and on form and you making sure you play well," Ajaz said of the possibility of playing all six Tests. "So you don't take it lightly. But it is a great opportunity as a spinner with so many games in Asia. So it's something that I'm looking forward to and pretty excited about."
Another opportunity Ajaz has is to pick the brains of former Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who will be New Zealand's spin-bowling coach till the Sri Lanka series.
"If you look at me and you look at Rangana, we are pretty similar in terms of our build and body types," Ajaz said. "While developing and growing my spin, I 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 understand how he crafted spin bowling. He was obviously very, very successful and a phenomenal bowler, so it's a great opportunity for me personally to learn from him."