OTD| Former Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel was born in 1985

In this article, we will discuss On This Day Former Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel was born in 1985. Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel is celebrating his 39th birthday today. He is one of the best players to have emerged from Gujarat. Parthiv Patel came up as a young baby-faced wicketkeeper who had raised the expectations of many. Whether he justified his potential or not is up for debate but what stood out was his never-dying will to play for the Indian team, especially in Test cricket. 

A 17-year-old Parthiv Patel made his international debut in 2002 when he played his first Test match against England in Nottingham. Making a debut at such a young age and in tough English conditions testifies to the talent the youngster had. A few months later he found his place in the ODI team as well. Parthiv played his maiden One-Day International in 2003 against New Zealand. However, he could not retain his place in either of the formats as a string of low scores resulted in his exclusion. It took another six years for him to make his comeback into the ODI team. 

‘Ranji’ paves the way for a return

Although Parthiv Patel made his comeback into the Test team in 2008 but once again had to be dropped. Then the Gujarat captain took the long road. He toiled hard in domestic cricket and remained consistent with the bat. However, he felt that these consistent runs were not bringing him into the spotlight and he needed something special along with runs. Then he decided to mount a serious challenge for the Ranji Trophy title with Gujarat in 2016/17. He ultimately got his reward and made his return to the Test squad for the series against England in 2016. He played the last three matches of the 5-match Test match series and scored a couple of half-centuries as well. Eventually, he also scripted history in first-class cricket as he led Gujarat to their first-ever Ranji Trophy glory.

Parthiv Patel played his last international match in 2018 against South Africa. His career had a lot of ups and downs but his character to fight till the end and hunger to play Test cricket made him a special player.