Sourav Ganguly urges Parthiv Patel to enjoy the moment

In an exclusive interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Former India captain Sourav Ganguly spoke on a number of aspects and stated that Parthiv Patel should make most of his opportunity in the 3rd Test to push for a spot in the team as the 2nd keeper especially when India goes on a foreign tour in countries like England, South Africa or Australia.

Speaking on KL Rahul’s absence due to injury and the unavailability of a specialist opener in the side, Ganguly said that it is very important for a top Test team to have a reserve opener in their ranks because it is a specialist position. He went on to state that places can be changed in the middle order but there must always be a reserve opener in the side.

Ganguly was not quite happy with the team selection as he felt too many bowlers were included in the squad with guys like Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya missing out. He stressed that at least one specialist batsman should have been added to the squad in place of any of these three players.

Though Ganguly was sympathetic towards KL Rahul who suffered an unfortunate injury, he stated that it was a part and parcel of the game and India should have been much more careful in picking their side with as many as 9 bowlers in the squad.

Speaking on the opening combination for the Test, Ganguly revealed he was pretty surprised with India’s decision to send Parthiv as an opener despite Cheteshwar Pujara’s brilliant century in Sri Lanka opening the batting. He felt in a pitch like Mohali, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference if Pujara was pushed up to the opening slot.

Parthiv Patel made his Test debut for India way back in 2002 under the captaincy of Ganguly at the age of 17. The “Prince of Calcutta” said it was a great opportunity for Parthiv to make a comeback after 8 years and he should enjoy the moment. Ganguly also made it pretty clear that a century from the comeback man might put Wriddhiman Saha under immense pressure.

Sourav concluded by saying that if Parthiv performs well in the 3rd Test, he might well be selected as the 2nd keeper for the upcoming tours. Though a good performance might not guarantee his selection, but at least an impressive performance in the Mohali Test might give the selectors a headache.