Patel has 473 first-class wickets, representing Warwickshire in England's domestic cricket.
Former New Zealand cricketer Jeetan Patel has been hired as England’s new spin-bowling consultant. This move was made with the team’s tour of South Africa and Sri Lanka in mind. He will join the national team in their match against the Proteas on December 26 at Centurion, South Africa.
Currently, he is still in New Zealand after he played for Wellington in a domestic ODI. In five matches, the veteran bowler took five wickets. He will play his last game on December 18, when his team faces the Central Districts in the Super Smash.
In an interview, he said that he couldn’t turn down the offer to be part of England’s cricket team. ‘The opportunity to take up a role with England is one that doesn’t come around often and one I simply can’t turn down’. He previously had a similar role for New Zealand when they hosted England for T20s. England, led by Eoin Morgan, won the series 3-2. He also played for Warwickshire, adding to his experience of English cricket.
He also played with Ashley Giles, England’s current team director. He has collected 473 first-class wickets for the county and remains committed to playing one more season next year. Overall, Patel has 892 first-class, 288 List A and 229 T20 wickets.
Patel made his debut for New Zealand back in August 2005 where he played against Zimbabwe. He ended up playing 24 Tests, 43 ODIs and 11 T20Is where he picked up 65, 49 and 16 wickets respectively. Patel last donned the national colours in 2017 against Bangladesh.
New Zealand will face Australia in three Tests which will begin on December 12. They will then face India in five T20s starting January 24, 2020. To find out more about New Zealand’s upcoming matches, visit Betwala’s page.
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