The baby-faced Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, Parthiv Patel, who made his professional debut back in 2002, hung up his boots on Tuesday, December 9, 2020. Hailing from Gujarat, the southpaw featured his state cricket team till 2020. He played a total of 25 Tests, 38 ODIs, and 2 T20Is. He featured in 194 first-class matches.
Coming into the Indian Cricket Team under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, Parthiv debuted in 2002 against England in Trent Bridge, Parthiv’s international appearances had always been sporadic. The childhood prodigy got sidelined with the emergence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni from 2004 onwards. His lack of edge in batting or wicket-keeping too made it difficult for him to make a comeback. Patel made his ODI debut against New Zealand in January 2003. He was selected in the Indian squad for the 2003 Cricket World Cup but did not play any.
Making his T20I debut in 2011 against West Indies, Parthiv featured in only two international matches. His stint in the Indian Premier League was also not highlighting as he always has been on the move. Starting with Chennai Super Kings in 2008, he played for Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Mumbai Indians.
Parthiv Patel: Some lesser-known facts
1. Parthiv became the youngest wicketkeeper at 17 years and 153 days when he debuted against England in Trent Bridge. In that Test, Parthiv played out an hour in the match while batting and hence saved India from defeat.
2. The southpaw is the only Indian to rack up five centuries in five consecutive innings in first-class cricket history. He scored 126, 124, 164, 110, 179 in 2007 between July and October.
3. Parthiv was trolled on a TV show ‘Bakra’ on MTV. He fell prey to a prank on the show which was hosted by VJ Cyrus Brocha.
4. Parthiv holds the record for making a Test debut before his Ranji Trophy debut. It’s not unknown that making it to the national side takes a lot of time and hard work. But he impressed the national selectors during his U-19 days and went on to play for India A before making his Test debut.
5. Parthiv Patel has three IPL trophies under his belt. He is popular for being a player always on the move, having played for six different franchises. He was part of CSK in 2010 when they lifted the trophy. He was with MI when they won the title in 2015. His crucial contribution in 2017, helped MI lift the title once again in 2017.
