Not many are aware that Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel, who continues to play on and off for his national team, has only nine fingers. The wicketkeeper has recently revealed how he lost the baby finger of his left hand in an accident.
During a live session on Instagram, Parthiv recalled the childhood incident when he lost his baby finger. “My finger came in the door when I was six, and it got cut,” he said.
Further, Parthiv talked about how difficult it has been for him to be a wicketkeeper with nine fingers as his baby finger doesn’t fit in the gloves. He revealed that he usually tapes the glove with the finger so that it stays intact and doesn’t hurt when he keeps wickets. But the southpaw is proud of the fact that he has represented his country as a wicketkeeper at the highest level only with nine fingers.
“It is slightly difficult in a way because the last finger doesn’t fit in the wicket-keeping gloves. So I tape it down the gloves so that it stays joint. I don’t know how it would’ve been if I had all the fingers, but when I look back, it feels good to represent India as a wicketkeeper with nine fingers,” the 35-year-old added.
Parthiv made his international debut in 2002 and was a part of the Indian squad in the 2003 World Cup. Though the last time he played for his national side was in 2018 against South Africa, Parthiv has been active in domestic cricket, playing for Gujarat.
In the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy final, Parthiv led Gujarat from the front by scoring 90 and 143 in both innings against Mumbai. He was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ trophy after his side won the contest by five wickets.
