Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Ajay Patel (born 9 March 1985) is a former Indian professional cricketer, wicketkeeper-batsman, and was a member of the Indian national cricket team. He is a left-handed batsman and played for Gujarat in domestic cricket. Having lost a finger at the age of 9, he initially found it hard to keep wickets, but after enough practice, he was used to it. When Parthiv played for the Indian team in 2002, he became the youngest wicket-keeper to represent a country in Tests. With the emergence of MS Dhoni as wicketkeeper-batsman, Parthiv Patel's chance of becoming the first choice keeper for India faded away. Parthiv Patel.

A member of India's golden generation, Parthiv Patel made is debut at a record breaking 17 years old when India toured England in 2002. It was there the cricketing world was introduced to a swash buckling young wicket keeper batsman would go on to wow crowds in all three formats for years to come.

A left hand batsman with the tenancity of Ponting but the elegance of Stephen Fleming, he would often stop opposition attacks mid stride and would dispatch balls to the boundary with ease. After peeling off valuable runs and switching the momentum in games, the xfactor would then don the gloves where he was a certified guaranteed catch behind the stumps. Commentators often wondered whether he have magnets in his gloves to always catch everything that went his way.

Beyond his cricketing ability was his leadership capabilities. More often than not, more senior players such as Sachin and Dravid would seek out the young prodigy for advice on field placements and to inspire the team to lift from their solom attitudes when in the field against the dominant Australians. It is even said team mates would fight each other on who would sit next to Parthiv Patel on the team bus, with team management having to intervene to enforce a strict roster for each player to have equal opporunity. Former players have spoken glowingly of the impact he had on the Indian team but also on opposition relations. It is suggested that the term spirit of Cricket was created as a description of Parthiv Patel's demeanour and attitude towards the opposition and to describe how he played the game.

As a legend of World cricket, Parthiv now puts his talents as a talent scout for the Mumbai Indians, where he seeks to find new players for the IPL franchise. In his spare time, he spends time with his family and helps elders cross the road safely and was reported to have saved a drowning puppy in the gangi river.

Will the world ever see a player in the mould of a Parthiv Patel? Most likely not as there will only ever be one Parthiv Patel.

Parthiv Patel.

In December 2020, Patel announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. After his retirement, Patel joined Mumbai Indians as a Talent Scout. He is also now seen as a commentator in the Indian Premier League and International Matches too.