Parthiv Patel and Steve Waugh were involved in a famous exchange of words during the latter's last Test match of the career in 2003-04 India vs Australia Test series.
When Waugh came out to bat, the wicket-keeper, Patel sledged Waugh from behind the stumps. Responding to him, the Aussie had said, “Show a bit of respect, you were in nappies when I played my first Test match”.
Funnily, Parthiv decided to recreate the moment but this time he wasn't at the receiving end. During India's tour to Australia in 2018-19, he walked to Waugh's son, Austin Waugh, one of the four substitute fielders for Australia during the match, and said the exact same words said to him by Steve 15 years back.
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“I didn’t bump into Steve Waugh, but I did bump into his son, during the Test match in Sydney in 2018-19. He was one of the substitute fielders for Australia. I went up to him and said: “You were in your nappies, when I made my Test debut” (laughs),” recalled Patel on the YouTube show called Cow Corner Chronicles.
“I told him to pass my regards to his dad (Steve Waugh) and just say those words back to him,” he added.
India won the Test series 2018-19 in Australia and Parthiv knows how big it was. “We missed out narrowly in 2003-04 in Australia. To be there again, as part of history was brilliant. To win a Test series in Australia is huge. To be able to do it for the first time, even though I didn’t play a single Test. To be around the team and be part of the moment, makes me proud,” he said.
The 35-year-old may not have made it to the playing XI on Australia tour, but he was in the XI of Johannesburg Test win on the 2017-18 tour to South Africa.
“Johannesburg Test was a very difficult wicket, to play. Then to show the kind of character which the Indian team showed there and to be part of that Test match also, feels great. Having been part of history-making Test matches like Headingley (2002), or Adelaide (2003-04) or Johannesburg (2017-18) or Australia (2018-19). Looking back at my career I feel proud that I was part of all these big moments of Indian cricket,” added Patel, who hasn't represented India again after that match.
Parthiv revealed advice from former India captain and current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly. “I was scoring lots of runs in domestic cricket. I bumped into Sourav Ganguly at an airport once the season finished. He asked me: “how was your season”. I said I have got 700 runs in the season. He was like: ‘yeh toh tu har saal karta hai, kuch aisa kar ki aur zyaada notice ho. Either score 1000 runs or get the team to win trophies. So that everyone would start noticing you,” he said.
The wicket-keeper batsman is still hopeful of making back into the Indian side. “It is just the passion of being on the field, just being around this whole atmosphere. That itself is a big motivation. I don’t believe in...whether I am playing IPL or playing Test cricket, Ranji Trophy or a club game, I like to be on the field. That burning desire is still there.”
