During the first quarter-final clash of Ranji Trophy season 2017-18, Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel hurt the middle finger of his left hand while keeping wickets against Bengal on Sunday (December 10). The match is still going on at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
Parthiv, who led Gujarat to Ranji Trophy triumph last season, was spotted in severe pain before falling on the ground as he failed to collect the ball neatly. Patel left the field straight away and did not return for the rest of the day. Anuj Rawal – the substitute wicket-keeper handled the gloves work for Gujarat for the rest of Day 4.
"He got hit twice or thrice on his finger and it was hurting badly. Not sure what the update is on his injury though," Gujarat batsman Manprit Juneja was quoted by Cricbuzz as saying.
Gujarat chief coach Vijay Patel though confirmed that Parthiv has picked up only a minor injury and it wouldn't take much time to heal.
Last week, Parthiv got a surprise call-up into the Indian Test team for the forthcoming series against South Africa, slated to be commenced from January 5 at Newlands, Cape Town. As expected, the 32-year-old was quite ecstatic to be picked up in the national team.
“I am quite happy. It is always a dream to make a comeback, like I did against England (last year),” Parthiv had told SportStar.
“There are certain feelings that are difficult to describe. I am really happy to be back into the squad.
“I am not thinking about anything now. I have always been a team-man and I am always ready to play in whichever role the team wants me to be in,” he added.
As far as Parthiv’s Test career is concerned – the Gujarat batsman has represented India in 23 Tests having made his debut way back in 2002. The left-hander has accumulated 878 Test runs thus far at an average of 33.76 with 6 fifties to his name.
India Test squad for South Africa tour:
Virat Kohli(c), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Parthiv Patel, Jasprit Bumrah
