Being the youngest wicketkeeper during his first Test match, Parthiv Patel stepped into international tournaments at the young age of 17.
The left-handed batsman recently engaged with fans in a live session that was a part of 'CricChat Season 2' on ShareChat Audio Chatrooms powered by Parimatch. He talked about how he started playing for India and his journey through the IPL.
Reminiscing about the day he got selected for the Test match back in August 2002, Patel shared how he did not even have the time to feel nervous since the selection happened a day before the match.
"I remember Saurav Ganguly coming up to me and saying that you will play in the Test match. I had no time to be nervous. At 17, you cannot think of being nervous since not many things go around your mind," he said.
He further elaborated on the pre-IPL and post-IPL eras. "Nowadays, the young generation does not feel nervous about being around international cricketers compared to the pre-IPL era, where meeting such personalities filled him up with nerves," he said.
Parthiv disclosed one of the memorable days when he got selected for the Indian squad. "My sister watched it on TV that I was selected for the team. I remember her slapping me during my sleep because I thought I was dreaming."
During the discussion, he also recalled when the famous Australian cricketer Mathew Hayden wanted to smash his face during a match in Brisbane. Now, good friends, Parthiv said that his relationship with Hayden is different now. "It has been a wonderful experience to know someone like Mathew Hayden as a person, rather than just an opponent."
Further discussing his glorious moments where he played against all odds, he highlighted one of the instances when during the IPL in 2015, he fractured his finger while playing.
On the advice of Sachin Tendulkar, he received an injection to numb his finger and managed to play the finals, only to win the match!
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Taking a shot at predicting the winner for this season's IPL, Parthiv said one of the new teams, Lucknow Super Giants or Gujarat Titans has excellent potential of winning. He further added that players like Mohsin Khan, Umran Malik, Yash Dhull, and Tilak Varma are great prospects to join the Indian cricket team.