I would always hold Sourav Ganguly as a leader in true sense: Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Patel, on Wednesday, announced his retirement from all forms of the game. The 35-year old brought an end to his 18-year career at the highest stage of the game. Announcing his decision, the wicketkeeper-batsman said it was the “right time” to move on having won every possible tournament in domestic cricket for Gujarat along with three IPL trophies.

Parthiv brought down curtains on his career after representing India in 25 Tests, 38 ODIs and 2 T20Is having made his international debut as a 17-year old in 2002. His final appearance for Team India came in 2018 during the tour of South Africa. He was Test cricket’s youngest wicket-keeper when he made his debut in England in 2002.

He was considered a prodigy but never really got a long rope in international cricket. The emergence of MS Dhoni only made things worse for him as the former India skipper became an indispensable part of the team soon after making his debut in 2004. But unlike international cricket, Parthiv enjoyed a stellar career in domestic cricket.

He scored over 11,000 First Class runs in 194 games and also led Gujarat to their maiden Ranji Trophy win in the 2016-17 season as well as their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy win. In IPL, he plied his trade for six different teams.

Parthiv Patel on Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble:

After announcing his retirement, Parthiv Patel opened up on his career and lavished praise on his first Test captain Sourav Ganguly. He hailed him as a “leader in true sense” along with the legendary Anil Kumble. Parthiv said that the influence of Ganguly and Kumble in his life went beyond the cricketing arena. He also revealed he still has his maiden Test cap that he received from Ganguly.

“I would always hold Sourav Ganguly as a leader in true sense with his man-management skills. Sourav and Anil Kumble were great leaders and they made me the kind of person I am,” Parthiv Patel was quoted as saying by India TV.

“I still have the Test cap with my name wrongly printed ‘Partiv’ that Dada gave me. The victories at Headingley (2002) and Adelaide (2003-04) and the half-century opening the innings at Rawalpindi will be my favourite memories,” he added.

Parthiv further said that the retirement was not a sudden decision. The veteran revealed that retirement was on his mind for the last one year and that the timing couldn’t have been better. He stated that he could not find any more goals to achieve in the game.

“I am at peace with my decision and slept well. Although my family members were in tears. I was contemplating this for one year and after 18 years, there is hardly anything else to achieve. I have won all domestic tournaments, three IPL trophies and Gujarat cricket is in right shape,” Parthiv said.