Ajaz Patel Trading Places: A New Spin on Cricket

By Margot Butcher - Republished from Outright 59 (winter 2025)

AJAZ PATEL knows how to make the most of an opportunity. Sparse Blackcaps selections — always abroad, primarily in Tests — have delivered stunning New Zealand cricket history. From a Test debut bag (2018), all 10 wickets in a Test innings (2021) to finishing off India again for the historic Test series win last November, his stats sparkle. He got there after having been the top Plunket Shield wicket-taker for three consecutive seasons, after a youthful switch from frustrated pace bowler to master of left-arm off-spin. Missing out on a Blackcaps contract and a painful injury in the last six months hasn’t dimmed his desire, while away from the park he’s grounded in faith and family.

Bowling through pain — few people knew that was going on in November when you took 11 wickets in the series-winning Test match in Mumbai. You were last sighted hobbling slowly up the steps at Bay Oval a few matches into the Plunket Shield, late last year. Tell us what happened.

AJAZ PATEL: I did my knee injury first game in India, but played through that whole Test series. Came back and it felt okay, but by the end of three Plunket Shield games, I certainly knew it wasn't right, and really needed to get this looked at. Got the scans done and found out I had micro-fractures in my tibia. That led to seeing the surgeon regularly in a staged recovery plan, but the rehab turned out to be a lot longer than I anticipated. I was thinking it would be six to eight weeks, like a normal bone injury, not half a year. But you build mental resilience through cricket. It’s part of professional sport. The resilience it takes for sportspeople to keep coming back from injuries and niggles is actually huge.

How did you stay upbeat?

I thought, okay, what's the good that's going to come out of it? One of the things was I had the opportunity to join the Prime Minister’s trade delegation in India — which was amazing. It also gave me a time of reflection. A quiet mind, to look at what I still wanted to achieve and where my goals are over the next few years. So it was quite enlightening. Rewarding even, and if anything, the fire is burning more. It was also the first time in the last 4-5 years where I've been able to just be in one place for a decent amount of time and really connect with my family on a deeper level, at home every day. That helped, as those long days of rehab, strength and conditioning were testing. On your good days, you feel like you're almost there, but it’s a constant battle between the good days and bad days. It's really exciting now to be back in full swing and have something to look forward to again, starting with the Global Super League in Guyana which means a lot to us as Stags.

What moments do you most treasure from the Test Series win in India?

Personally, it was being able to do it in front of family. Obviously I haven’t had opportunities to play Tests in New Zealand, so my family here don't get to watch me play for New Zealand a lot which has always been quite tough for us. They're often sitting at home watching it, and I don't really get to appreciate the level of joy that they have in those moments.

When I got my 10-fa in 2021, I was gutted that it was in the middle of that COVID period so I wasn't able to share that moment with family. This time around, going back to Mumbai where I’m from, and to be able to do what we did AND have family there and share that, that'll stay right up there in terms of both my cricketing achievement and memories. Being able to have my wife, daughter and parents there, and extended family. To look up and be able to see Mum and Dad in the stands at Wankhede Stadium and how happy they were when I was walking off. And then to have that moment with my wife and daughter when they got to come out on the field, to the middle of the wicket. The people who go on the highs and lows of the journey with you and sacrifice as much as you do — all that time when you're away. It's those quiet hours where my wife is alone with my young daughter, and it's no longer the two of us.

How did you find going back and putting on a different hat in the trade delegation?

I was a bit puzzled as to why they wanted me to begin with, when I got an email from the Prime Minister's office with a letter from the Prime Minister. I guess that was self-doubt — what am I really going to offer? But I found out that I could build bridges very quickly between New Zealand and Indian businesspeople, using cricket as the icebreaker to bring them together to start to communicate. Cricket helps you relate to people very quickly, in India. It’s funny, I walk past people sometimes here and you get this look — and as cricketers, we start to recognise that look — where people feel like they’ve recognised you, but they’re not 100% sure. But in India, everyone is so ardent about sport and politics, and I was in a situation where they knew exactly who I was. I started to understand how sports can be such a valuable tool in diplomacy and building strong connections. I quickly found myself very busy on that trip, meeting and greeting and getting to know people.

That includes the amazing people and diaspora who were in the New Zealand delegation itself. I also have a new level of respect for politicians because I saw all the work that went in behind it, and I was seriously impressed. They were four full-on, jam-packed days, and it was an amazing opportunity for me to grow my own network. Ross [Taylor] was co-lead of the ‘business delegation’ and I was part of the ‘community delegation’ so we were often in different places, but it was cool to catch up with Ross there too, as I haven’t seen him a lot since he stopped playing. I felt he took a lot of heat off me, they certainly know who Ross Taylor is in India.

In New Zealand, you’re one of our highest profile Muslim sportspeople. How inclusive has the cricket environment been? I know you’re able to take time to pray, and to do Ramadan on playing days. We also changed the way we did champagne spray photos, with a ‘dry’ team trophy photo first — New Zealand was the first country to do that, and emulated by England, so that the likes of yourself and Mo Abbas can relax and share in iconic team moments.

It does feel a hell of a lot more inclusive because you don't feel like you have to step out of that moment, you know? And it is a moment that you treasure. I did used to have to step away to avoid the alcohol in the spray, but I knew it was never intentional — I understood that it’s part of the celebration culture, and guys were just unaware that it could be a personal problem for me. Now — since 2020 I think — it just takes the worry out of the equation. I think it's pretty cool that the guys can still have their fun their way, and, that they also look out for me and my beliefs.

How do you manage the month of Ramadan fasting alongside cricket?

It obviously coincides with Plunket Shield where you can be bowling a lot of overs on a hot day.

The first two or three days of Ramadan are the most difficult, but it’s mind over matter. The purpose is to be grateful. Living in the modern world, we don't always appreciate that we have clean drinking water and food to eat ready whenever we want. It’s a month to really check in again and be grateful for and appreciative of all the luxuries that we have in life, and, empathy for people who don't have clean drinking water, who struggle to get one meal a day. It’s also a time when you feel a cool unity with everyone else around the Muslim world experiencing the same things spiritually, so although personally I could choose to postpone my Ramadan fast as a ‘traveller’ when I’m ‘travelling away’ for a game, I choose not to.

At the same time, I'm not saying it is easy! It certainly has its challenges when it’s late in a long bowling day. You can feel quite parched and dry, so that first sip of water after sunset is quite nice. But your body is amazing in what it's able to do and get through. When I do start getting fatigued, I take it one ball at a time, and deal with it that way. The coaches and players around me are also really understanding. I'm grateful that they understand. They might put me in positions where I won't have to run around as much or, if we're batting, I get the opportunity to just go into the sheds and have a break or have a little snooze. My Ramadan routine on playing days is wake up before dawn, have a bowl of oats with a scoop of protein, some fruits in there, and a litre bottle of water, and that'll be it. Then a date to break the fast at the end of the day [tradition], then onloading as much water as I can. A 10-15 minute break, then have a nice, full meal. The most important part for me is getting the hydration/electrolyte balance at the right level because obviously your body will say ‘enough!’ at some point and then that can defeat the purpose!

Another thing I learned recently is that physios now run vegan jelly snakes over the rest of the season.

Yeah, the ‘normal’ ones contain gelatine that isn’t halal. So all of those little things are pretty cool. It just means I can not worry about it and do what I need to do.

Your competitive fires are clearly still burning at 36. You’re on 85 Test wickets. I’m old enough to remember Blackcaps Test cricketers still winning matches at 40 — and as pace bowlers. How do you see your future, next few years and beyond?

One thing the delegation trip to India really gave me was opportunities to look outside of the game as well, and to understand that there are a lot of opportunities for me outside of the game post-cricket, whenever that comes. I have a marketing and management degree from before my cricket career, but I guess I was really uncertain what future avenues there might be for me. Now, I feel a little more confident and connected, which has been good for me overall, mentally.

But yeah, it is tough mentally and emotionally, to be in and out of the BLACKCAPS team, with the Test series few and far between — it can be a personal rollercoaster in that regard. Come off a real high, come back and can’t help but feel on the outer again. That’s when mental resilience is important, again, as it was with the injury. It’s huge. Have that real clear understanding of why you're doing what you're doing.

I’ve always been passionate about wanting to play cricket for New Zealand and that doesn’t change. That was my dream growing up, and to have realised that dream, it doesn't quite stop there. The dream's evolved to wanting to achieve more. I've been very, very fortunate in my short career so far, and I have to be grateful to God as well, for me to have had those moments with so few opportunities. It's been pretty amazing. I’ll be thankful for whatever the future holds for me.