Parthiv Patel most likely to keep his place in the playing XI for the third Test

Parthiv Patel had an average game in Centurion. He was all over the place with the gloves, dropping some dollies and that cost the Indian team a lot. Patel was poor with the bat as well. A forced change that saw the Gujarat man take the Bengalis place in the team. Saha is the second best wicket-keeper in India but his injury has left Indian management with no option.

Parthiv’s mediocre showings in the second Test have made India think twice before going with him in the third. He scored just 38 runs in all in Centurion and deeply struggled with the bat. Except for Virat Kohli, no one else applied themselves in the second Test. There aren’t a lot of cricketers who are good with both bat and gloves in India at the moment.

Parthiv to play in the third Test?

According to TOI, Parthiv Patel may not have played to his strengths but there is no one replacing him. Dinesh Karthik recently flew to South Africa to cover for the injured Wriddhiman Saha but he is unlikely to start for India. The reason being Dinesh Karthik has hardly played any first-class cricket for his domestic side. He has not been in touch lately.

Dinesh Karthik has played just one game for Tamil Nadu this season in the Ranji Trophy. This might just be the reason why Parthiv will still be keeping his spot in the eleven come match day. The things have worsened for India as the reports suggest that the pitch in Johannesburg has a lot of grass on it. These kind of pitches are a nightmare for batters and also for wicket-keepers.

Parthiv and Dinesh are very much talented when it comes to their batting. However, it is the wicket-keeping skills that is in the question. While Dinesh has played for India out in the field more often than behind the wickets, Parthiv Patel has been below average in the same position. Indian management will have to make another tough decision as they have no one else to pick from.