Ajaz had a damaged finger post Kanpur Test, reveals Dipak Patel

Dipak Patel has gone down in history as the New Zealand offspinner whom captain Martin Crowe used as an opening bowler to torment triggerhappy batsmen in the 1992 World Cup Now he will also be famous for transforming Ajaz Patel from a fast bowler to a leftarm spinnerAjaz on Saturday became only the third bowler in the history of the game after Englandrsquos Jim Laker and Indiarsquos Anil Kumble to claim all 10 wickets in an inningsldquoHe Ajaz was very warm to it the idea He decided to bowl spin and for a number of years we worked closelyrdquo Dipak told The Sportstar earlier this month about the transformation which took place more than 10 years ago when he was New Zealandrsquos U19 coachDipak PatelDipak 63 who has also coached Papua New Guinea spoke to Sunday midday not long after Ajaz walked into the Wankhede Stadium dressing room after his 10 on 10 effortAlso Read Jogeshwari boy Ajaz Patel becomes third Test cricketer to take all 10 wicketsEdited excerpts from the interview How thrilled are you tonightIrsquom very thrilled and extremely proud of Ajaz Itrsquos an amazing achievement and what makes it more special is the fact that hersquos achieved this in the first innings of a Test match which is very very unique both Laker and Kumble got their 10 in the second inningsHas Ajaz performed way beyond your expectationsNot really I am well aware of his abilitieshellipno question about that Whether he was going to bowl that well after such a long breakbetween Test series was the concern To put things in perspective he doesnrsquot play Test cricket in New Zealand and hersquos got to wait for six to eight months before he gets another chance When you put all these factors into perspective what hersquos been able to achieve today is very specialTo take 10 in an innings against India who are good players of spin is more creditableParticularly in their country and conditions Yes we know the Indians are very good players of spin and to get 10 wickets when the opposition has scored 325 runs is still an amazing achievementAjaz sent me a photograph of his finger on the last day of the previous Test Monday and he had the skin off his finger He has done an amazing job to come back three days later and perform the way he hasAt the end of the day a cricketer has to go out there and do it Yet being the coach who turned him into a spinner must make you feel greathellipYou are righthellipitrsquos not about me itrsquos all about Ajaz Hersquos put in all the hard work and I just assisted him along the way over a number of years At the end of the day he has to go out there and perform Itrsquos not just about his 10 wickets Every time he has played for New Zealand he has proved to be a wickettaker Hopefully this gives him impetus and that New Zealand start looking at bowling spinners in New Zealand if we want to keep developing quality spin bowlersJim Laker and Anil Kumble the two others who claimed 10 wickets in an innings are alltime greats Do you wish Ajaz becomes oneObviously yoursquod want that but Ajaz is only starting his career and Irsquom a big believer of spinners not maturing until they are in their 30s He is performing at his prime but how much Test cricket is he going to play in New Zealand is going to be the biggest challenge he will face The Ashwins the Jadejas bowl 25 to 30 per innings and as spinners we all know that it takes time to develop your art Ajaz needs to be bowling lots and lots of overs in Test match cricket in backtoback Tests and this is the big challenge he will face if he wants to become one of the greats Itrsquos very early in his career to start labelling him one of the greats but look at what hersquos been able to do Hopefully New Zealand Cricket the powers that be particularly from a player perspectivemdashthe captain coachmdashif they start to take a note of it he can be a matchwinnerAlso Read Wankhede Test Day 2 Siraj bags three wickets as New Zealand 386 at tea