Parthiv Patel recalls how Ganguly's words helped him stage a comeback

Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel has been in a rollicking form in the recent times. He staged a national comeback after a gap of almost 8 years during the England series in December 2016. Patel looked elegant and classy with his batting and showed that he has the mettle to excel at the topmost level. There are definitely many people who he would like to credit for helping him stay on top of his game. However, one name that stands out is of Sourav Ganguly – Parthiv’s first captain in the Indian team.

As per the reports in The Hindu, Parthiv Patel recalled how a short meeting with Ganguly three years ago set the foundation of the national comeback that he made last year. Both cricketers happened to meet at the Mumbai airport. After a few generic discussions, Sourav Ganguly asked Patel about his run of form in the domestic circuit. A very content Patel had then replied that he scored close to 700 runs.

Ganguly looked unfazed with the amount of runs Patel had scored and noted that this is something he has always been doing. Reflecting back at the same, Parthiv remarked, “What he meant was I should not be content with what I was doing, needed to do something out of the ordinary to win back my place in the Indian squad.” It took very little time for Patel to understand that he needed to up his game. He then underwent tough trainings, got his weight down from 75 to 65, and practiced a lot more.

“I then underwent a rigorous morning-to-evening training and practice schedule in the Motera Stadium. I would do stringent fitness routines, practise my ’keeping and then work on my batting. My fitness levels were not quite there and this affected my concentration in the final session where I put down catches,” quoted Parthiv Patel.

“I worked on my drives through mid-off and mid-on, often practising alone with the bowling machine. The results came slowly but when they did, I was a better cricketer,” he added further.

Recalling his comeback Test at Mohali against England, Parthiv noted that it was the reassuring words of coach Anil Kumble that helped him calm his nerves down. Kumble had notified Patel that he had to open the innings. Patel responded well at the opening slot with scores of 42 and 67 on return.

“You are going to open tomorrow, I know you can do it,” Kumble had said to Parthiv. On this, Parthiv conceded, “Anil Bhai’s words were so reassuring since I was playing a Test after eight years.”