"I have worked hard on my batting. I knew that to play a big innings, I had to play straight. So I practised a lot with plastic balls, and that paid off," says the 23-year old Patel in an interview to the Indian Express.
The photograph of the chubby faced debutant Parthiv Patel walking through a guard of honour after saving a Test against England in 2002 is still preserved in the wicketkeeper's album.
It was a moment that was to live on for years. But, ironical as it may be, the architect of that euphoric script slowly began to fade away from public memory. Thrown into the grind of domestic cricket after a series of bloopers, he was suddenly playing to empty stands. Then in 2006, he made a comeback into the Indian team touring Pakistan, and was dropped subsequently. He says that was the toughest time of his career. "I was quite low then. I didn't feel like going to the ground. But I quickly picked myself up. My family was a big source of support," Parthiv says.
Time to shine
After
Read More »from Parthiv banks on batting to break the jinx
