Bengaluru: South Asian communities are among the fastest-growing and largest migrant groups in Australia and New Zealand. And organically, cricket tends to be the sport these people gravitate towards at a young age.
Over the years, New Zealand Cricket has been a direct beneficiary of this development, and for a country which is not blessed with a large talent pool (5.3 million population approx) and money ($37 million as total NZC reserves for FY25) and ($26.9 million in funding), they have found ways to tap into these talents.
Dipak Patel was the trailblazer for the sub-continental players who aspired to play for the Black Caps. Since the off-spinner, Jeetan Patel, Jeet Raval, Tarun Nethula, Ronnie Hira, Ish Sodhi, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra and Adithya Ashok have gone onto represent the country at the highest level.
Sourav Kothari urges for cue sports' inclusion in Commonwealth Games 2030Lahore-born Muhammad Abbas, son of Pakistani first-class cricketer Azhar, has been the latest entrant, having earned a national cap in March 2025. He also set a new world record for the fastest ODI fifty on debut in 24 balls.
"New Zealand Cricket is very fair to all," Abbas starts off.
"I wouldn't say it would be specifically to South Asian or anyone, but I think my personal experience growing in this environment has been very fair. It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, you're given an equal chance."
The 22-year-old Abbas, who was included in the NZC pathway programme at 16, said that the feeling of being "valued" by the coaches, team-mates and the organisation (NZC) has helped him grow as a cricketer and individual.
"I was valued just as anyone else would be. The bigger question was what were your skills and what you brought to the table. I think if you bring something good, NZC is there to support you and help you grow."
Abbas has nothing but gratitude for Dipak who coached him and the one who had opened doors for many like Rachin, Aditya, Ajaz among others.
"He (Dipak) was my high school coach for the first XI and he has had huge impact on my game. He's a very straightforward person and I really appreciated that. He definitely pushed me to push my limits the ways he thought was right and a huge credit to him for developing my game in those five years."
IPL hopes
When asked if there was an IPL franchise he would like to play for in the future, Abbas said that he has not given much thought about it.
"I like quite a few teams. The likes of Mumbai (Indians) is pretty awesome. Even Kolkata (Knight Riders) sounds very cool. But I am not too sure, I've followed it but I have never thought of myself in any of those teams."
"However, it has been awesome to see the tournament, especially youngsters like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He is one hell of a talent."
Fans can catch the live action of Bangladesh vs New Zealand on FanCode.