Twenty-nine-year-old Ajaz Patel, who has played for Central Districts and Auckland A has secured his position as one of the three spinners for the Black Caps in the three-test series against Pakistan to be held in the United Arab Emirates in October-November.
Ajaz's 135 Plunket Shield wickets in the last three seasons landed him the spot in the squad with Astle Todd and Ish Sodi also listed as the spinners for the test team. The door also opened for Ajazas Mitchell Santner's long recovery from a knee injury ruled him out of contention.
"Ajaz has deserved his inclusion on the sheer weight of his domestic first-class form over the past couple of summers," selector Gavin Larsen told media.
"With Mitch Santner not fully recovered yet from his knee surgery, it's nice to have both wrist [Astle and Sodhi] and finger [Patel] spin options, given the likely conditions in the UAE."
AjazPatel was born in Mumbai, India in 1988 and moved to New Zealand with his parents and has been playing cricket from a very young age.
Last summer, the Central Stags left-arm spinner took 48 wickets at an average of 21.52 that lead the Stags to their first Plunket Sheild title in five years. He was eight wickets ahead of his closest wicket taker Logan van Beek from Wellington, and that also got him named as New Zealand's domestic cricketer of the year in April.
With him being added to the squad, Ajaz is the fifth Indian-born test cricketer to be selected for test XI after Ted Badcock, Tom Puna, Ish Sodhi and Jeet Raval.
Ajaz will leave for the UAE with New Zealand A squad in early October and will be among those competing for the two open spots in the ODI and T20I squads each. The A squad features first-time selections such as fast bowlers Kyle Jamieson and Blair Tickner, and NZ Under-19s player Rachin Ravindra.
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