Virender Sehwag feels Parthiv's experience was the reason behind his selection

Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel made a surprising comeback in the Indian squad for the 3rd Test against England at Mohali following Wriddhiman’s Saha’s injury in the 2nd Test at Vizag. The southpaw will be donning India whites after a gap of 8 years when he takes on the field in the 3rd Test starting from Saturday.

Earlier this year, it was Yuvraj Singh who made a comeback in the Indian T20 squad following impressive performances in the domestic circuit in the shortest format. The selection was an indication to the out of favour players that consistent showing in the domestic circuit might allow you to forge your way back into the national team.

Having made his Test debut at a tender age of 17 in 2002, Patel was impressive on his debut tour against England and continued to feature regularly in the playing XI for the next two years. He was eventually dropped from the side in 2004 owing to poor form with the bat and pathetic glove-work. Patel’s exclusion paved way for the likes of Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni to come in the reckoning with the latter serving Indian cricket for many more years to become one of the most successful captains in the world.

However, Patel did make a brief comeback in the Test team on the 2008 tour to Sri Lanka where MS Dhoni opted for some rest but the former got to feature in only one Test after poor performances by Dinesh Karthik in the first two.

Speaking about Patel’s comeback in the Indian Test squad, “The Nawab of Najafgarh” Virender Sehwag said Parthiv’s selection will make other domestic players optimistic about their chances of playing at the highest level.

“I believe one should never give up. One should work hard and stay focused in order to taste success, just like Parthiv,” he said.

Sehwag was quick to mention that he was not totally aware of Parthiv’s selection and stated his inclusion ahead of Rishab Pant who has been scoring heaps of runs in the domestic circuit was purely because of the experience Patel has.

“I wasn’t aware Parthiv got a call-up. Even in the last game, Saha kept wickets and I don’t know how a player can get injured while travelling. There was talk that a young keeper might be brought in, but perhaps (Anil) Kumble and (Virat) Kohli wanted to go with experience, which Parthiv has in abundance,” he concluded.