'It was a climate of fear'- Ajaz Patel reflects back on horrific Christchurch mosque shooting

New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel managed to create history in the second Test against India at the Wankhede, as he went on to pick 10 wickets in an innings. It happened during the second session of day 2. This ensured that he became only the third bowler after Jim Laker and Anil Kumble to have picked all 10 wickets.

He backed it up by picking a four-fer in the second innings and finished with figures 14/225 in the second Test. However, his effort went in vain as the Kiwis ended up losing to the hosts by 372 runs. It happened to be India’s biggest victory, in terms of runs.

Thus, the 33-year-old went on to register the best bowling figures in a losing cause, toppling India’s Javagal Srinath’s 13 wickets against Pakistan in 1999. As a matter of fact, he originally hails from Mumbai, the same place where this match took place. Thus, the crowds in the stadium kept cheering him for his monumental effort.

Ajaz Patel speaks on Christchurch mosque attack

The left-arm spinner recently opened up on what he went through during the terrorist attack at Christchurch in 2019. While speaking to the media on Tuesday, he spoke about the same in Hindi. The Kiwi also termed the incident as a “Climate of Fear”. 

“The terrorist attack had a huge impact on the Muslim community living there. It was a climate of fear. We found out the news just after returning home from the mosque on Friday. But the way our bowlers, Prime Minister as well as the whole community responded – with love – we felt included” said Ajaz Patel as quoted by TOI.

“For example, there is no problem when my mother leaves the house wearing a burkha. No one will say anything. When the terrorist attack happened, our new house was getting constructed. We used to visit it often. So our neighbors must have seen us and realized we are Muslims from the burkha. After the attack happened, they got a plant for us and kept it on our stairs, even when we weren’t living there. They even wrote us a letter to show their support. So people have a strong sense of belonging there and they live together as one big community,” he added.