Parthiv Patel, the left handed wicket keeper batsman who has been missing from the Indian squad for some years recently is now the captain of the Gujarat side in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy.
Bidding to lead his home state to their second consecutive domestic T20 title, the 30 year old has not lost focus on a re-entry to the Indian team. The men in blues, led by MS Dhoni are currently battling Australia in their tour to the country down under.
“I am not someone who puts extra pressure on myself thinking that I have to play for India. Yes, there is dream and there is motivation of playing for India (again), but there’s no point (just) thinking about it,” Patel said.
The left handed batsman who is presently the highest scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy said, “I have been the top scorer so far in the tournament. I am feeling good about my game and if I can win this tournament for my state there is nothing like it. But definitely there is a big motivation of playing for India.”
Patel last played for India in an ODI against Sri Lanka at Brisbane, Australia in 2012. He is now leading the Gujarat side in the domestic T20 tournament. He was once the youngest wicket keeper to play for India, and the seasoned wicket keeper has also served as a batsman in many international matches.
He said, “I did play as a batsman for a while and getting consistent runs. As a player I can only perform to whatever ability I have. The rest is not in my hands. If I keep scoring and doing the right things. I am sure selection will take care of itself.”
The Gujarat team is drawn in Group B with Delhi, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh and open their campaign tomorrow against Delhi at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Bandra-Kurla stadium.
Speaking about the state’s chances of success in the tournament Patel said, “Obviously we do well in this format. We have won it twice in the last four years. This is a format in which we always do well. We go into this tournament with confidence. We just focus on our strength. Ours is a good mix of experience and young players who want to become big in Indian cricket,” pointing out that his team relished the T20 format.
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