England rope in Jeetan Patel as spin-bowling consultant for New Zealand T20Is

Image Credits: Twitter/@WarwickshireCCC

Former cricketer Jeetan Patel has been roped in as spin-bowling consultant of the England men's cricket team for the five-match Twenty20I series against New Zealand, beginning November 1 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. 

Talking about the same, the 39-year-old said that taking up the England role is also a way of handing over the mantle at his youth club.

"The opportunity came up and I spoke to Cricket Wellington, and they were very positive about me doing that. Firstly for my development beyond playing, and it gives other guys an opportunity to perform in my place, which is part of handing over the mantle," the International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Patel as saying. 

Patel, who featured for the Wellington cricket team for almost 20 years, said that he is happy to have got the opportunity and is looking forward to assist the England players in the upcoming series. 

"I don't know how it's going to pan out, I don't even know if I'll be any good at it. But I really want to give it a good go. I think I've got some attributes that can help some guys," he said. 

"For me, looking at what's next, you've got to tap into these opportunities when they arise, because they don't arise all the time. To work with England is huge, and I'm so grateful that this has come about. Now, it's up to me what I do with it," Patel added.

During his playing career with New Zealand, Patel has appeared in a total of 24 Tests and 43 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), bagging 65 and 49 wickets, respectively. He also played 11 matches in the shortest format of the game and took 16 wickets in it. 

Patel was also Warwickshire's highest wicket-taker and overall third-highestwicket taker in the 2019 County Championship after claiming 64 wickets at 26.75.