MUMBAI: Ajaz Patel doesn’t remember what the Wankhede pitch in Mumbai looked like three years ago, but he remembers the feeling. The left-arm spinner from New Zealand is not just back at the stadium where he became only the third bowler in Test history to take ten wickets in an innings, but also in the city he can call home; a place where he has familial roots.

Understandably, he is emotional. After all, he did not even think he would get another chance to be back in Mumbai for another Test match. In many ways, it feels like a homecoming for him. He’s sitting in the press conference room, reflecting at a moment when he etched his name in the record books. Life hasn’t changed much since that historic performance against India in 2021.

“After the ten-fer, I haven’t had as many opportunities to play but at the same time, I mean when you do get an opportunity to play, it is very special when you’re playing for your nation. You never take it for granted,” he says.

It is true. In fact, of the 24 Tests New Zealand has played since the Mumbai match three years ago, Patel has played in only ten of them. Five of which have come in the last month and a half starting with the abandoned Test against Afghanistan in Noida. Patel started with a six-fer in Galle, but has gone under the radar since then. His partner Mitchell Santner has been doing the heavy-lifting with the ball in that time frame. In the three matches since, he has only four wickets to show.