It took me a good two days to accept that I wasn't playing against India: Monank Patel

The USA’s captain, Monank Patel, revealed that he was gutted to find out that he would not be playing against India in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024. As co-hosts of the tournament, the USA proved to be dark horses of the tournament as they defeated Babar Azam-led Pakistan to reach the Super Eight stage of the competition. 

Patel recently came forward to talk about how disappointed he was to miss the game and that he wanted to face the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and company when the USA took on the Men in Blue. 

It is worth noting that the skipper missed the clash due to a niggle, which prompted Aaron Jones to take up the role of the captain. Currently competing for MI New York, Patel revealed that it took him a couple of days to digest the fact that he missed the game. 

"It took me a good two days to accept that I wasn't playing against India. I had been visualising the prospects of facing Bumrah and company the moment the groups were announced. The constant text messages and calls from friends and family were not helping either,” Monank Patel was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda. 

“I had to seclude myself in a room and chew it away. The enormity of the moment hit me when the teams aligned for the national anthems. Going out for the toss would have been a big moment for me as the USA captain. But it is all in the past,” he added. 

Rashid asked me to play my game: Patel

Speaking of the MLC, MI New York recently fell short of Texas Super Kings’ tally of 176 runs in the MLC 2024. Monank Patel was the highest run getter for his side, scoring 61 runs. He even lauded Rashid Khan for keeping his temperament and getting runs on the board. 

"Rashid asked me to play my game, which is cricketing shots. He said 'aap jo karna chah rahe ho woh mein karunga (I will swing wildly instead of you).' Rashid said let's get 30 in the next two which will effectively leave us with 50 in 3,” Patel said.