Parthiv Patel feels he is ready to don the gloves for India anytime

Parthiv Patel, the wicketkeeper and the captain of Gujarat Ranji Trophy side, believes his wicketkeeping is at its best than ever before. He was a pocket-sized dynamo when he made his debut at the highest level in 2002 and was just a 17-year-old kid. But he lost his place in the side as his work behind the stumps went from competent to shoddy. However, he made his comeback late last year after an impressive performance in domestic cricket.

The 32-year-old is currently busy in the ongoing season of Ranji Trophy and is leading Gujarat as the team is the defending champion. Parthiv led the side to the title last year with some magnificent performances on his own. He also returned to the national side on the back of some strong shows on the field in the longer formats. He fared decently in the Test match against England in Chennai but had to make way for the preferred keeper Wriddhiman Saha.

I am working hard on my keeping

In an interview to The Hindu, Parthiv Patel cleared that he has been working on his skills behind the wickets and is better than ever before. “I have been working hard on my keeping of late. I feel I am now keeping the wicket better than I have ever done before,” he said. He also said that he was excited when he made his comeback to the Indian side in December last year. However, he also hinted the selectors that he is now ready as a standby wicket-keeper.

“It was exciting to be part of the team led by Virat Kohli. And it felt nice to have done well on my comeback and contributed to the team. I am quite ready as a standby. These days I have two separate sessions — for batting and keeping,” he added. Parthiv was also happy of the fact that Gujarat started their campaign with a win over Kerala and started the season on a high in their quest to defend the title.

Gujarat won the well-fought contest against Kerala by four wickets last week and the skipper had a great game with the gloves as well. “I have been captaining Gujarat for 10 years now. It is a challenge that I enjoy. It is one match a time for me. I am delighted, though, that we could begin our campaign on a winning note. And it is great to see young left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai making a dream debut to his career,” he concluded.