Ajaz Patel bagged a total of 15 wickets in the 3-match series against India© BCCI/Sportzpics
The top wicket-taker for the India vs New Zealand Test series, Ajaz Patel, ran riot with the ball as the tourists secured a 3-0 series sweep against the Indians. The result of the series was as astonishing as the struggles of India’s batters against Kiwi spinners, considering the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, etc. are considered good players of spin. Despite Ajaz completing the series with a whopping 15 wickets in three matches to his name, with 11 of those coming at Wankhede, Mohammad Kaif refused to call the New Zealand spinner a quality bowler.
In a video on social media, the former India batter ridiculed the Kiwi star, India have bowlers of his quality in every single club. Kaif went on to blame the Indian team for allowing Ajaz to claim as many as 11 wickets in the third Test.
“Ajaz Patel didn’t bowl well. If you see his pitch map, he delivered two full-toss, two short balls, and two length delivers but still managed to take wickets,” said Kaif.
The former India batter also ridiculed New Zealand’s part-time spinner Glenn Phillips who clinched 4 wickets in the Mumbai Test.
“Glenn Phillips is a part-timer and he doesn’t know how to bowl good deliveries. We lost to part-timers and not to quality spinners. Let people say that Ajaz Patel has taken 22 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium. He can’t even land the ball properly. Ajaz Patel bowled just two good deliveries in an over and got wickets. The defeat in the final Test is embarrassing. There was no bowler in New Zealand side in the Mumbai Test,” Mohammad Kaif added.
The only New Zealand spinner Kaif praised was Mitchell Santner, who claimed 11 wickets in the Pune Test, before being ruled out of the final match of the series due to an injury.
“Santner did bowl well. The bowling he produced in Pune was a classic Test match performance,” Kaif said, lauding the left-arm spinner.
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