Parthiv Patel retires from all forms of cricket

Indian wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel has decided to call it a day by officially announcing his retirement from all forms of the game, 18 years after he made his debut in 2002 at the age of just 17.

Parthiv Patel is known to have famously made his Test debut even before he played his first Ranji Trophy match. The southpaw came into the side as a promising youngster, but never really managed to cement his place in the national team owing to MS Dhoni's emergence.

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— parthiv patel (@parthiv9) December 9, 2020

"Today, I announce my retirement from all forms of cricket, and as I bring down the curtains on this 18 year old cricketing journey, I feel heavier with gratitude to many. The BCCI showed a generous amount of confidence and faith in a 17 year old boy to play for India. I have enormous gratitude towards them for being a guiding force and hand holding me, in the formative years of my young career," Parthiv Patel said.

In a career that spanned over 18 years, Parthiv Patel went on to represent India in 25 Tests and 38 ODIs. The stumper scored six half-centuries in the longest format of the game and four fifties in ODIs, but surprisingly, he does not have a century to his name in any format.

Parthiv Patel represented six franchises in the IPL

Parthiv Patel in action for RCB

The stylish left-hander was most recently a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) unit during IPL 2020, but turned out for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK), Deccan Chargers (DC), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians (MI) over the years.

Parthiv Patel last turned out for India in 2018 when he was picked for the 2017-18 Test series hosted by South Africa in Johannesburg. The wicket-keeper batsman managed a combined score of 18 runs over the course of his two innings, and India went on to win that game by 63 runs.

In the domestic circuit, Parthiv Patel represented Gujarat in 194 first-class matches. He guided his team to their maiden Ranji trophy victory in the 2016-17 season, and on the back of his strong performances in that season, he got himself into contention to play for India again, but could not grab his chances.