KEY POINTS:
Being born into the Patel family is the closest you can get to hockey royalty in New Zealand.
And if gold medal-winning Ramesh was king, then Sanjay, 25, is the latest in a line of princes. He made his full New Zealand debut in two tests against Malaysia last year and has the midsummer three-test series against the Dutch firmly in his sights.
To get there, he'll have to impress the as-yet-unnamed coach in a trial match but, by all accounts, Sanjay's excellent form for Auckland in this year's NHL has given him an inside track. So, too, the fact he covers at least three positions - inside right, inside left and right half.
But perhaps his biggest strength is the fact he is so steeped in hockey history. No discussion of New Zealand's greatest players is complete without reference to Ramesh, 53. He was inside left for the 1976 Olympic champions and was a constant in New Zealand teams from 1972 until his retirement 123 caps later in 1986. Since 1989, he has been chief executive of New Zealand Hockey.
His life has been inextricably linked with the sport. Ramesh has played for the same hockey club, SLAM, since he was an Onehunga Primary School pupil around 45 years ago.
Ramesh also has two nephews who have represented New Zealand. Paresh Patel, the son of his eldest brother Jasmat, went to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and Sunil Unka, son of another older brother Mahendra (himself an Auckland rep) has also played for his country.
Ramesh says his father, who emigrated from the Gujarat province of India aged just 14, was the catalyst for his career.
"He used to play but like a lot of Indians at the time, he was interested in cricket and hockey," Ramesh says.
There was no surprise then, when Sanjay began showing a proficiency for the sport at a young age but he says it wasn't his father's deeds that inspired him.
"I can't even remember him playing for New Zealand," Sanjay says, "Or even Auckland but I guess I must have been there."
"He was there but he was more interested in other things," Ramesh replies.
If Sanjay faces the Dutch, Ramesh will be watching all right.
Holland have been here only once before, in 1974, but their pedigree is unquestioned. They have won three major tournaments this year - Sultan Azlan Shah at Malaysia, the Champions Trophy in Spain for a record eighth time and the Hamburg Masters - but disappointed at the world cup, finishing seventh.
Holland have few peers. Dutch teams have won four of the last seven Champions Trophies (2000, 2002, 2003 and 2006), two of the last three Olympics (1996 and 2000) and two the last four world cups (1990 and 1998).
Holland has fast become the epicentre of the hockey world. It has a well-established professional hockey league that attracts the world's best players - Black Stick Phil Burrows has recently played there - and it is somewhere Sanjay has in mind when he does his OE.
Selection for the upcoming series and a half-decent performance would do wonders for his contract chances.
