Former India wicketkeeper batsman Parthiv Patel has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Parthiv, 35, has played 25 Tests, 38 ODIs and 2 T20Is for India in an international career that spanned from 2002 to 2018. He made 934, 736 and 36 runs in the three formats respectively.
Parthiv holds the record for the youngest wicketkeeper to play Tests, having made his debut in 2002 at 17 years and 152 days. He last played for India in a Test against South Africa in Johannesburg in January, 2018.
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?On this day, as I pause and reflect to assess how far I have come, the biggest wish I have is for my father to have been standing beside me, at the closure of my journey as a cricket player, as he has through my life and career.
?Today I announce my retirement from all forms of cricket, and as I bring down the curtains on this 18 year old cricketing journey, I feel heavier with gratitude towards many. The BCCI showed a generous amount of confidence and faith in a 17 year old boy to play for India. I have enormous gratitude towards them for being a guiding force and hand holding me, in the formative years of my young career,? Patel said in a Twitter post.
?I am full of gratitude to The Gujarat Cricket Association, my home, for solidly rallying around me throughout my journey, and the leadership role conferred upon me couldn?t have been more joyous and fulfilling than our team winning all formats of the game,? he added.
pic.twitter.com/QbqdHX00dR— parthiv patel (@parthiv9) December 9, 2020
Parthiv was among the unfortunate set of wicketkeepers to have played a bulk of their cricket in the MS Dhoni era, which meant he was constantly in and out of the Indian team. However, he was a giant in the domestic circuit, having played 194 first-class matches for 11240 runs at an average of 43.39.
He led Gujarat to their maiden Ranji Trophy title win in 2016-17, scoring 90 and 143 in the final against Mumbai. A year earlier, he had led them to title victory in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a century in the final against Delhi.
He has also played 139 IPL matches across six teams including Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and RCB, scoring 2848 runs at a strike rate of 120.78. He won the trophy with CSK in 2010 and MI in 2015 and 2017, the year in which he top scored for the franchise.
WATCH | The Laws of Cricket Challenge, Episode 1 With Parthiv Patel
Parthiv was a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for the recently concluded IPL 2020, but did not get a game as the franchise went for a younger opener in Devdutt Padikkal.
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