Ahead of his return to the Test squad after eight years, Parthiv Patel says he never felt he was out of the reckoning
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| "I have been told by the selectors that I have been keeping well" © crick247 |
Two days ago, Parthiv Patel was sounded out by the selectors to be on standby for Wriddhiman Saha, who had a thigh strain. It didn't keep him awake at night, but there was nervous excitement. Parthiv calls it a "bit of a waiting game", but that sounds like the feeblest of understatements if you consider the wait he has endured for another taste of international cricket - his last Test came eight years ago, in a series MS Dhoni sat out, and he played his most recent international in 2012.
When the selectors finally confirmed on Tuesday night that Saha wasn't fit to play the Mohali Test, Parthiv, 31, was ready for another comeback. He says he had never given up hopes of a recall in the first place, not even when Saha and Naman Ojha had moved up the pecking order following Dhoni's retirement from Tests.
"I had self-belief, which has defined my career and brought me to where I have reached. I believe a lot in hard work, and at different points of time it has paid off, so there was no way I was going to quit," he told ESPNcricinfo. "This [selection] is another example of that: if you work hard, at some point of time, out of nowhere, something comes up."
Parthiv has stacked up a neat collection of scores in the last few years: since 2012-13, he has never averaged less than 45 in the Ranji Trophy. This season he has already scored three fifties and a hundred in eight innings, at an average of nearly 60. More noteworthy, though, is his improved showing behind the stumps in the last two years. It is understood to be one of the reasons for why he was picked ahead of other contenders like Dinesh Karthik, who has also been among the runs this year.
Parthiv is a little surprised at how people have suddenly begun to take notice of his glovework. He is aware of the relative anonymity of domestic performances, and says it's difficult to get noticed when one is not a regular in the national side. "It's interesting that when you are playing domestic, no one talks about keeping. Once you reach international [level] everyone starts talking about it," he says.
"When you are not playing for India, the [public] focus is not there. People don't know how much hard work you are putting in. Only you know how much hard work you have put in and only people around you back home know what you are doing."
Luckily for Parthiv, his consistency didn't escape the eyes of the selectors.
"I have been told by the selectors that I have been keeping well," he says. "It feels great that I have been rewarded for what I have been doing in domestic cricket for the past few years."
He believes his hundreds in the finals of the Deodhar Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy last season were defining factors in his eventual selection. Giving himself time to settle down and understanding his batting better, he says, have contributed to his consistency. "The biggest factor for me is, every time I have got one hundred, I have gone on to score another one," he says. "So the hunger for hundreds is something that has helped me get noticed more. Knowing my game was important and knowing which bowler to attack, and which not to, are things that come with experience and I used it to my betterment.
"Over the years I relied on a couple of shots, but now I have improved as a batsman because I have been putting hours into my batting, doing basic drills right and making sure I am selecting the right balls to play. Even when I go into the nets, I try to focus like it is a match and put a price on my wicket."
Like with many modern cricketers, greater fitness has helped Parthiv do things he would have found difficult otherwise. A few years ago he decided to split his training sessions into two - one dedicated entirely to batting and the other to keeping. The focused routine has fetched him the results he was after.
"It's a lot more power training. I follow [India trainer Shankar] Basu's training programme. There hasn't been loss of weight, but I am taking a lot less time to recover after a day's cricket. For example, on the fourth day, after keeping for two days, I was still feeling fresh. Even during the Duleep Trophy [against India Red], I kept on all four days, and obviously when you have been keeping for that long, you feel exhausted, but I was still there and still focusing. Basically I am fitter and that's why I am able to concentrate and move well. It's made a huge difference to my keeping and batting."
The number of rank turners used in the Ranji Trophy last season proved important in the evolution of his keeping. Keeping well on such wickets, he says, significantly raised his confidence.
"We've played in a few matches which got over in less than two days, and the wickets were turning square," he recalls. "A couple of years ago a game against Haryana finished by lunch on the second day. I had a few stumpings and caught-behinds and didn't concede any byes. If you haven't given any extras on a difficult wicket, you know you have done well. Keeping well on such wickets gave me a lot of confidence."
Parthiv believes his success is also a vindication of the effort put in by his coaches. Former India wicketkeeper Kiran More, for one, has been a long-standing mentor.
"Every time Kiran More watches a live game, he is just a phone call away," Parthiv says. "He is someone who knows me from my childhood. If I am making a mistake or doing something right, he is the first one to know.
"The coaches at Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Cricket Association have always been helping me around, giving me catches and making sure the bowling machines are ready whenever I want to bat for hours."
The last time Parthiv played a Test match - against Sri Lanka in 2008 - the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were still around. He was also witness to India's maiden and acrimonious fling with the DRS; now, with India having shown signs of a reconciliation with the system, Parthiv's inputs from behind the stumps will be critical to making the right reviews.
"Once I speak to the management, I will know exactly what it is and how it's been working," he says. "But yeah, with the DRS it is good that you don't get howlers and that many bad decisions."
Parthiv has come a long way, from chubby teenager to hardened veteran. His near-day-long journey from Hubli - where Gujarat are playing Mumbai - to join the India side in Mohali is symbolic of that.
"It has been up and down, no doubt, but I haven't stressed about it," he says. "The focus has always been on improving my game; that, probably, is the reason I am not worried about the rollercoaster ride or whatever. It's a young side and I am excited to be part of it. At this point, I am very happy to be back, and whatever has happened [in the past], is gone."