The name of Parthiv Patel came into reckoning after leading the Indian team at the U19 World Cup in 2002.
Shortly after, Parthiv was appraised for a slot in the Indian team during the 2002 England tour, without him playing a single Ranji Trophy match in his career.
After moderate performances during the subsequent Australia and Pakistan tour, Patel lost his place to Dinesh Karthik.
However, cricket experts and pundits believe the door for selection closed for both Karthik and Patel once swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni made rapid strides at international level.
During an interaction earlier, Karthik conceded that he lost his place in the Indian side to a ‘special player’. Now, Patel has affirmed that it would be ‘wrong’ to blame ‘Dhoni-era’ for him being dropped from the Indian side.
“Many people said to me that I was born in a wrong era and that it was Dhoni’s era, but I have told it before also that I made my India debut before MS Dhoni. It will be wrong if I seek sympathy by saying that my career was shortened because of MS Dhoni’s presence,” Patel told Aakash Chopra.
Moreover, Patel conceded that his level of performances was not up to the mark. Hence, he was replaced in the Indian team.
“I think my performance was not up to the mark and that is why others got a chance. Dinesh Karthik got it first and then MS Dhoni. If I was doing well, then nobody could have replaced me. I have never sought that sympathy of not playing for long because I was born in Dhoni’s era,” he added.
Further, Patel elucidated about his struggles while coping up with criticism. The Baroda cricketer had to go back to play with U16 cricketers to bring back lost confidence. Additionally, after being dropped from the Indian side, a sense of fear crept in for the Gujarat-captain back then.
