"Jeez it would be nice to be on that tour."
Black Caps spinner Ajaz Patel was excited about the prospect of playing in India and now that he's there, he wants to play in both tests in his country of birth.
Ajaz Patel Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Patel was a youngster when his family emigrated from Mumbai in 1996 and he became the fifth Indian-origin cricketer to play for New Zealand.
New Zealand have five spinners in their test squad in India, Patel, Will Somerville, Mitchell Santner and part-timers Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips.
The 33 year old has played nine tests since debuting in 2018, but is yet to play in his country of birth.
He's enjoying being back there.
"I've seen lots of Mumbai and parts of Gujurat, but to have been visiting other states and cities around India has been cool," said Patel.
"Bit of a shame we haven't been able to get out and really experience India which is something different and quite amazing but that's the nature of the world at the moment.
It's been a whirlwind tour around India for the Black Caps with the three T20 internationals in Jaipur, Ranchi and Kolkata and the Tests to be played in Kanpur and Mumbai.
"I always think about (Indian cities) as organised chaos which makes it really special."
More importantly though he's delighted to be there as a spinner.
"Obviously we know what India offers in terms of spin bowling but at the same time we know the challenges of facing India at home as well.
"It's a challenge as a spinner but it's something I'm really excited about and thriving on so I'm looking forward to it."
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Photo: PHOTOSPORT
When the future tours programme had a tour of India pencilled in a few years ago, Patel got excited.
"I guess the bonus is that the second test is scheduled for Mumbai, my home town, so hopefully I'll get a few friends and family around as well."
It is likely that Patel will bowl alongside fellow spinner Will Somerville, the pair played together in Sri Lanka in 2019.
"We feed off each other quite well, he offers that height and bounce whereas I offer that low skid.
"A left-arm spinner and a right-arm off-spinner turning it in different ways so it's always cool to be playing together.
"You thrive off other spinners being in the squad and playing together as you can communicate and get a real good feel for what's happening in the middle.
"There'll be times when he's attacking or I'm attacking so we have a good understanding now, we've played a few games together so it's exciting to have the opportunity to go out there and do it again."
Will Somerville Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Will Somerville has played four tests, the last was in Sydney in January 2020.
The first Test starts Thursday.
A possible New Zealand Test eleven is Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel and Will Somerville.
As for India, newly appointed T20 captain and regular opener Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, and pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have all been rested as part of BCCI's workload management policy.
Virat Kohli returns to the squad after missing the T20 series.