What can Parthiv Patel provide in the Test series against Australia

As India get ready for another tough tour of the year, national selectors on Friday announced an 18-member squad for a 4-match Test series against Australia later this year. Selectors made few notable changes as they paved in ways for players like Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma and ousted a few. Hardik Pandya has not been picked for the series and selectors have hinted similar expectation from Bhuvneshwar Kumar keeping in mind his all-round abilities.

However, amidst all, selection of Parthiv Patel has come as a surprise to many. He has been grafted in the side as a backup wicket-keeper for the incumbent Rishabh Pant. Parthiv Patel is set to make his return in the Test team after almost 11 months. He had last played in the series when India toured South Africa earlier this year. He had featured in the last two Gest matches after Wriddhimann Saha sustained an injury in the first test at Capetown.

As Parthiv is set to make his return in the Gest team, let us take a look at his attributes that he can be entrusted with on the tour of Australia.

An Experienced wicket-keeper

Parthiv Patel emerged at the International scene at the turn of the century, amidst the conundrum of wicketkeepers. Sourav Ganguly and company scouted this 17-year-old boy who was still studying in school and entrusted him with the responsibilities of a wicketkeeper on the tour to England in 2002.

Parthiv made his debut against England at Trent bridge in 2002, thus becoming the youngest wicketkeeper in the test history. Baby-faced Parthiv was not considered the right fit for the job by many but his efforts and technique were commendable. He kept the wickets efficiently and made defiant 19 runs in the second innings to help India elude the defeat. India was able to draw the four-match series in England.

He was the part of the World Cup 2003 but didn't get any chance in the tournament. He was sent to Australia later that year for a 4-match series. He batted in the lower middle-order to provide well-needed assistance. He delivered his best by scoring 62 runs in the first innings of Sydney test while batting in the lower middle-order. He constructed innings with Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 241, and counter-attacked the power-packed Aussie bowlers to help India amass 705 runs, the highest total in Tests then.

He was particularly impressive in his third overseas Test series in Pakistan in 2004. He scored a valiant 62 in the losing cause in Lahore Test. He was later entrusted with the job of opening the batting, and he scored 69 in the Rawalpindi Test. India won its first Test series in Pakistan.

Parthiv Patel has the experience of playing 25 Test matches and has played them in varied conditions and situations. In my opinion, his selections have been abrupt and yet he has risen to the situation most of the times. After Wriddhiman Saha was injured in 2016 against England, he was called in for the Mohali Test. He scored 42 and 67 in the first and the second innings of the Mohali Test. He later scored 71 runs in the following Test match at Chennai.

A couple of years later in 2018, he was once again picked on India's tour to South Africa and played the last two Test matches on the tour after Saha was ruled out of the series. Though he didn't make significant contributions with the bat, his batting looked consolidate amongst the other failing counterparts.

He has 62 catches in 38 innings in Tests with an average of 1.63, slightly lower than MS Dhoni's 1.77 catches per match.

Can perform a job of an Opening batsman

India's test opening pair is one of the major concerns for the team management. India has emerged as an invincible team in the recent years and yet they have not been able to win Test series in South Africa, England, and Australia.

Parthiv Patel is a seasoned campaigner and possesses tight batting technique. He has opened the innings whenever asked in the past. His back foot game can be of great assistance on the bouncy pitches of Australia. He cuts and pulls well along the square.

Shikhar Dhawan has not been in the best of forms of late and has failed miserably against the tough opponents away from home. Therefore, Parthiv Patel can be tried in the top order to provide left-hand-right-hand combination along Murali Vijay or KL Rahul.

Parthiv Patel was first tried in the opening slot against Pakistan in Rawalpindi Test. He played a tough knock of 69 runs and exhibited resistance against the fearsome bowling attack comprising of Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Mohammed Sami.

On his return into the national side in 2016, in the Chennai Test against England, he opened the innings alongside KL Rahul and scored 71 runs to provide 152 runs stand for the first wicket. He once again opened in the second innings of the Johannesburg Test. Though he could only score 19, he looked solid in his defence and displayed a confident stroke play.

A seasoned Middle-order batsman

Parthiv has over 18 years of first-class cricket experience. He has amassed over 10000 runs, comprising 26 centuries and 58 half-centuries. In addition to it, he has over 530 (catches and stumpings) dismissals to his name.

Parthiv's career statistics

He successfully led Gujarat to its maiden Ranji trophy win in the 2016-17 season. He scored 90 and 143 in the first and the second innings of the final against Mumbai and helped Gujarat win single-handedly. He has played his majority of cricket in the middle-order and when needed, never shied from pushing himself to open the innings in spite of keeping for long hours.

Experience of playing in Australia

He has the experience of playing in Australia. When he last toured Australia in 2003-04, he had scored 160 runs in six innings, only 16 runs less than Aakash Chopra who had played eight innings. He even performed better than Adam Gilchrist who had a terrible series and could only score 96 in six innings. He has churned runs continuously in the domestic cricket. He has batted in the middle-order in most of his games that he has played for India. He can replace anyone who fails to deliver in the middle-order.

The return of Parthiv Patel will strengthen the side. He is the only player from the 2003 series and his experience will bring attributes to the team. Moreover, it will be a great chance for Rishabh Pant, who is tracing the untravelled paths and considered the prospect of India, to learn from his experience.