Birthday special: Parthiv Patel – Domestic giant with unfulfilled international career
During India’s tour of England in 2002, the visitors faced an unfortunate situation when their main wicketkeeper in Tests, Ajay Ratra got injured. This meant that captain Sourav Ganguly had to field a 17-year-old behind the stumps. But, this 17-year-old, who then became the youngest Test wicketkeeper and holds the feat until now, was a different character. He was someone who was prepared for the long haul.
As a matter of fact, there were a lot of hopes from Parthiv Patel. The short baby-faced cricketer had led the Indian U-19 team in the Junior World Cup earlier that year in New Zealand. He had shown some class with his bat in domestic cricket, hence getting a debut cap wasn’t surprising. But, there is no doubt he was too young to face the pressure of international cricket.
In and out of the Indian team
He was in and out of the Indian team for the next two years, as India kept searching for a better keeper and a better batsman. Patel came back to domestic cricket with international experience and transpired his confidence at that level. He played some really good cricket in the upcoming years. His focus on batting and wicket-keeping made him a prominent name.
He made his comeback to the Indian team in 2008, but that was short-lived. He once again knocked on the doors of the selectors with good performances in domestic cricket in late 2010. Later, he also took up the role of the opening batsmen whenever Virender Sehwag or Sachin Tendulkar missed a match in the limited-overs formats. However, with time, he fell off the radar once again. But, he kept going back and scoring runs at the domestic level.
He found his way back into the Indian team once again in 2016-17, when Wriddhiman Saha had to miss some matches of the India-England Test series at home and then once more, during India’s tour to South Africa in 2017-18. But, that series was the last time Patel was seen in an Indian jersey.
Even though his international numbers might not be any sort of example for anyone, his career highlights the fact that the domestic circuit is something to reckon with. He is the only captain to win three Indian domestic competitions in all three formats. He transformed Gujarat cricket’s fortune while he was the skipper. He also has success in the IPL, where he has won titles with Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
Parthiv Patel recently hung up his boots from all formats of the game and has joined Mumbai Indians as a talent scouting expert. He has also been involved in some commentary stints. Here’s wishing the evergreen Parthiv Patel, a very happy 36th birthday.
