NZ PM in city, visits Wankhede and INS Surat

Mumbai: New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon visited the Wankhede stadium on Thursday morning, along with former Kiwi batting great Ross Taylor, left-arm pace ace Trent Boult, who is set to turn out for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025 and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, who took a ‘perfect ten' in a Test against India at the venue in Dec 2021. During his visit to the city, Luxon, accompanied by rear admiral Garin Golding, chief of navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, also went to INS Surat, the newest indigenous destroyer of the Indian Navy, at Naval Dockyard. The NZ PM arrived at Wankhede at 9.45 am. President of the Mumbai Cricket Association Ajinkya Naik said it was "an absolute honour" to welcome the NZ PM. "During his visit, we took him through the rich legacy of Mumbai cricket, highlighting Wankhede's role in shaping some of India's greatest cricketers and its historic moments, including the 2011 World Cup victory. Given the deep cricketing ties between India and New Zealand, it was a proud moment to showcase how Mumbai continues to be a powerhouse of talent and passion for the game." The NZ PM seemed particularly pleased to see the name of Ajaz Patel on the honours board. The spinner has a special relationship with the stadium. The 36-year-old tweaker of Indian origin achieved only the third ‘perfect 10' in Test history at the venue in Dec 2021 when he took 10 for 119 in India's first innings of that Test. And in Nov last year, he took 11 wickets — 5 for 103 and 6 for 57 to script the Kiwis' 25-run win in the third Test, enabling New Zealand to win the series 3-0.At the Naval Dockyard, Vice Admiral Sanjay Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, welcomed the NZ PM board INS Surat. The visitors got a presentation about the vessel's sophisticated design, advanced technologies, and operational capabilities.