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New Zealand’s Ajaz confident of adapting to local conditions well
Ahead of the five-match T20I series New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel on Sunday said they are confident of adapting to the conditions of Bangladesh.
The series will take off on September 1 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Bangladesh are yet to win a match against the Blackcaps even though they played 10 T20Is.
“It’s a different condition from what we get at home. It’s bringing different sorts of challenges as well,” Ajaz said through a video message sent to the media on Sunday.
“It was a great net session today. We have got an idea about what we would get next. We didn’t have much expectation from the net session. We just wanted to have an idea, and prepare ourselves according to that,” Ajaz added.
In their last tour to Bangladesh, New Zealand had won only one match— a T20I. They were battered by the Bangladeshi spin attack. Ajaz said as a spinner, he is also excited to get the chance to play in Bangladesh.
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“A friendly condition always excites every bowler. But we have a good batting line-up who plays spin well. We now are playing in their condition. They beat some big teams here. So we are not taking them lightly. We have to make sure that we play our best cricket. And at the same time who have to hone our skillset well so that we can perform well on the match days,” Ajaz said.
“We, the spinners, have discussed ourselves about the wickets here and how we should step up. We have been talking to Thilan Samaraweera (batting consultant of New Zealand) as well. He is experienced, he knows the sub-continent better than us. We are trying to know from him how they would bat. We have to understand these and play accordingly against them,” he added.
This series could be a great chance for the New Zealand team to prepare themselves ahead of the T20 World Cup taking place later this year in Oman and UAE. But they did not include any player in this series from their World Cup squad. Still, Ajaz believes a good show in this series could earn him more chances in future in white-ball cricket campaigns.
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“I’m so excited to be able to play (white-ball cricket). It’s a great opportunity for me to play white-ball cricket, and we have so many matches to play in this format. Keeping that in mind, I’m eager to grab the chance. I’m not taking too much pressure that I have to do something crazy. I would love to stick to my basic skills and do what I can do better,” he said.
3 years ago