Ajaz Patel - New Zealand - Bowler

Another Patel who is playing for New Zealand. Ajaz follows in the footsteps of Dipak Patel and Jeetan Patel - a spinner. The Mumbai born lad shifted to New Zealand very early on and began his career with Auckland, but it was Central Districts who gave the left-arm spinner a chance to showcase his skills.

Ajaz played for Auckland A without much luck and when he moved to Central Districts, he was soon fast tracked into first class cricket - making his debut in 2012. He made his T20 debut also in the same year but had to wait to play 50-over cricket for three more years.

However, it was red-ball cricket that Ajaz impressed everyone in. He kept picking wickets at consistent basis but found it hard to break into the New Zealand squad, who already had Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi in the ranks. The former was a major roadblock as he gave more with the bat compared to Ajaz.

That did not deter Ajaz as he kept performing for Central Districts, picking up 16 five-fers and three 10-wicket hauls. 2018 was a great year for the spinner as he finished as the leading wicket-taker in Plunket Shield - 48 wickets in 9 games. In the process. Ajaz was awarded with the Men's Domestic Player of the Year.

Ajaz got his maiden New Zealand call-up for the 2018 Pakistan series in UAE. The absence of an injured Mitchell Santner opened the door of opportunity and he grabbed it with both hands. While his maiden appearance for New Zealand was low-profile in the T20Is, Patel made his presence felt straightaway in the longest format as he bagged the Man of the Match award on Test debut. He scalped seven wickets - including a maiden Test fifer in the second essay - which helped his side beat Pakistan in a thriller by four runs at Abu Dhabi.