The name of Parthiv Patel is synonymous with effective wicket-keeping skills, flashy stroke-making and being the ultimate team man.
The Gujarat captain made a name for himself in the T20 format, with his stints at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and now Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In the early 2000s, Patel cemented his place in the Indian team as a teenager, before making way for the likes of Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni. However, Patel kept making sporadic performances in the Indian team, even late in his career.
Now, Patel rued about not being able to take a wicket for India due to a catch dropped off his bowling. In fact, the Ahmedabad-born has only 91 deliveries to his name in first-class cricket.
The incident he threw light on was during his maiden tour with the Indian team in England, back in 2002. In the practice game against Essex, Patel tried his hands on bowling and almost got the wicket of Ravi Bopara.
“I did (use to bowl). After tea time, when the mandatory overs start, and there’s nothing in the game, I usually bowl a few. I actually even bowled against Essex on my first India tour; we were playing a practice game. I remember, Ajit Agarkar dropped a catch off my bowling – of Ravi Bopara. I could have had a wicket,” Parthiv detailed on ESPNCricinfo’s Open Mic Podcast.
During the conversation, Parthiv also mentioned looking up to former Indian wicket-keepers, Kiran More and Nayan Mongia.
“They were from Baroda but still, I used to look up to them. I always look up to Kiran More as my wicketkeeping coach; if there’s any query, I go up to him. You wanted to be a wicketkeeper, and everyone batted in Nayan Mongia’s style – those black gloves of his and that ‘Aigaa’ thing that everyone from my generation remembers,” concluded Patel.
Parthiv was all set to resume his stint at the RCB in the thirteenth edition of the IPL. But COVID-19 pandemic rendered the tournament at the cusp of cancellation.
