It Will Be Wrong If I Seek Sympathy By Saying That My Career Was Shortened Because Of MS Dhoni's Presence: Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Patel, India, and Gujarat wicketkeeper-batsman feel blaming the MS Dhoni era for him not getting a long rope in the Indian team is not a fair assessment.

Patel, 35, made his debut as a 17-year-old teenager during the 2002 India tour of England. But Patel was still raw at the time and it showed in both his batting and more importantly his wicket-keeping.

Patel was dropped from the team following the 2003-04 tour of Australia and in the same year, MS Dhoni made his international debut for the Men in Blue, eventually sealing the wicket-keeper’s slot for the next 15 years.

“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,” Parthiv Patel told Aakash Chopra.

“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,” Parthiv Patel told former India opener, Aakash Chopra.

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‘I used to think I will not be able to catch even a tennis ball’- Parthiv Patel

Patel also reminisced about how harsh criticism from former cricketers and journalists at the time inculcated fear in him to an extent that he was scared of even catching a tennis ball.

“I was scared when I got dropped. I used to think I will not be able to catch even a tennis ball because many former cricketers and journalists were writing a lot of things about me and I read all of them. That brought a sense of fear in me and I was scared” Parthiv Patel revealed.

“Then I started playing cricket with Under-16 guys just to get back my confidence, I used to bat and keep with them just to see if I can play cricket again or not. I started from zero after getting dropped in 2004. When I started enjoying I made a promise to myself that I will enjoy my cricket at whatever level I play at, whether it’s district or club matches,” Parthiv Patel added.

Parthiv Patel, despite having not been able to cement a permanent spot in the Indian team, has made a plethora of comebacks on the back of his domestic performances, the last of which came during the 2018 Test series in South Africa.

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