"Had been visualizing the prospects of facing Bumrah and company": Monank Patel gutted not to play in T20 World Cup 2024 match vs India
USA captain Monank Patel recalled how gutted he was knowing he would miss the T20 World Cup 2024 match against Team India. The right-handed batter revealed that he was excited to face the Jasprit Bumrah-led bowling attack and was even more sad when the teams lined up for the national anthems.
Patel missed the crucial game against India in New York due to a niggle, prompting Aaron Jones to take up the leadership duties. The hosts missed their regular captain's services, especially with the bat, as they made only 111 and eventually lost the game by seven wickets.
The Gujarat-born cricketer, who is currently playing for MI New York in MLC 2024, needed a couple of days to digest the fact that he would miss the India game. He said, as quoted by Cricbuzz:
"It took me a good two days to accept that I wasn't playing against India. I had been vizualising the prospects of facing Bumrah and company the moment the groups were announced. The constant text messages and calls from friends and family were not helping either. I had to seclude myself in a room and chew it away. The enormity of the moment hit me when the teams aligned for the national anthems. Going out for the toss would have been a big moment for me as USA captain. But it is all in the past."
Monank Patel became a sensation after striking a crucial half-century against Pakistan in Dallas while chasing 160. USA, who are an associate nation, eventually pulled off a historic win in the Super Over.
"Rashid asked me to play my game" - Monank Patel
MI New York fell just short of the Texas Super Kings' total of 176 in MLC 2024 on Sunday, July 14. Monank Patel, who top-scored for his side with 61, praised Rashid Khan (50 off 23) for getting them as close to the total as possible. He said (as per the aforementioned source):
"Rashid asked me to play my game, which is cricketing shots. He said 'aap jo karna chah rahe ho woh mein karunga (I will swing wildly instead of you).' Rashid said let's get 30 in the next two which will effectively leave us with 50 in 3. Which is exactly what happened. He pushed to go as near to the total as possible. At a point we knew we could win it from there. The reduced margin of defeat will serve us a long way at the business end of the tournament."
MI New York are currently in fourth position on the MLC 2024 points table, having won one game and lost two.