Parthiv Patel England vs India 2018
Parthiv Patel. Credit: Twitter

The fever of Indian Premier League has gripped the entire cricket-crazy nation.

Nothing beats this two-month of cricket madness. However, there is no denying the Indian players, as well as the fans, must have the upcoming England tour on the back of their minds. Virat Kohli and co. will travel to England in July for the much-awaited five-Test series.

Parthiv Patel, in fact, has already started preparing for the tough tour. The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman, who is yet to get a game for Royal Challengers Bangalore this season, said India would go to England high on confidence on the back of the fine performance in South Africa. Patel also said he has been practising wicketkeeping of late.

The Gujarat-star had faced widespread criticism for his poor wicketkeeping in South Africa. Drafted in the playing eleven in place of injured Wriddhiman Saha, Patel had failed to justify his inclusion by dropping several chances. And he is now looking to make amends for the poor show by doing well in England, provided he gets the chance in the playing eleven.

We’ll Go to England With a Lot of Self-Confidence - Parthiv Patel
Credits: BCCI

“I’ve already started preparing for it. Even during the IPL, I’ve been doing a lot of keeping drills instead of just focussing on my batting. These are exciting times for Indian cricket, and after how we played in South Africa, I’m sure we’ll go to England with a lot of self-confidence,” Patel was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

He further said India was confident of winning the last Test against South Africa. India had conceded the series by losing the first two Tests but went on to finish the series on a high. On a pitch which was nothing less than a minefield, Virat Kohli & Co. beat the hosts to win the game. The visitors then went on to win the subsequent ODI and T20I series.

“Throughout the Test, we believed that we could win the match. We always thought we were ahead of South Africa. I mean we were willing to continue with the game whereas they weren’t; that was quite evident. It was a great opportunity for us to show our strength; the kind of appreciation we got for winning on a pitch like that showed that we had the team to beat South Africa,” he said.

We’ll Go to England With a Lot of Self-Confidence - Parthiv Patel
Credits: BCCI

Meanwhile, before the Tests in England, India will play limited-overs series against the hosts.

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