We wanted to give back: Ajaz Patel auctions off his 10-wicket haul match jersey for children's hospital in New Zealand

New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel has decided to auction off his 10-wicket haul jersey for a noble cause. Patel, who become only the third bowler in the history of international cricket to pick up 10 wickets in a single innings, has said that he hopes that the money raised from the auction helps Starship Foundation - a children’s hospital, to find a Play Specialist in Starship’s Radiology Department.

Ajaz Patel had walked off to a standing ovation at the Wankhede Stadium after his feat and was congratulated by Indian captain Virat Kohli in the dressing room. Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s lead spinner in the series gave him a signed Indian shirt at the end of that day.

Speaking after the game, Patel had said that it was one of the greatest cricketing days of his life and probably will remain to be at the top in his playing days.

On Thursday, 6 May, Patel took to Instagram to inform that he was going to auction off his shirt.

“You may or may not have already seen it but, @starshipfoundation is auctioning a signed shirt of mine from the 10-wicket Test in Mumbai to raise money for a play therapist, while it was a special day for me, what they do to help kids and their families is even more significant and I hope the auction on @trademe can raise as many funds as possible for them,” wrote Patel.

He was asked by the Starship Foundation as to what prompted him to make the donation. Patel revealed an incident from last year where they had to spend some nerve-wracking moments with their daughter and Starship had been of huge help at that time.

“My wife and I spent a couple of days in Starship with our daughter last year. It was a worrying time, but I realised how lucky we were to only need a short stay. Starship was amazing to us, and we wanted to give backthis is one way we can do that,” Ajaz was quoted as saying.