Things that have happened to Indian cricket since Parthiv Patel last played a Test
On Wednesday, BCCI selectors dropped a bomb by recalling Parthiv Patel into the Test fold after a gap of eight years. The 31-year old, who made his Test debut way back in 2002, had been living a life of Test wilderness, although he had made sporadic appearances in India’s blue jersey.
As he gears up to play for Team India once again, we take a look at things that happened to Indian cricket in his absence:
1.MS Dhoni, who was made the Test captain later that year, took India to the World Cup win in 2011 and No.1 rankings in Tests (2009). He retired from Tests in 2014.Post his success, there was a movie named on him. The movie turned out to be a blockbuster and resurrected Sushant Singh Rajput’s career.
2.Patel’s last Test in 2008 was Sachin’s 150th. He played 50 more, scoring 4044 runs and compiling 12 more centuries. He also changed his bat from MRF to Adidas. He has been a retired played for three years now. His other contemporaries such as Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag also retired.
3.Anil Kumble, who was captain when Patel last played, retired, tried his hand at administration, and is now back in the team in the capacity of a coach.
4.Virat Kohli became an international cricketer, was part of the 2011 World Cup winning side, played 50 Tests and is now the Test captain. He still doesn’t have an IPL trophy though.
5.The 200-mark was breached for the first time by an Indian batsman in ODIs. The feat has been repeated by an Indian three more times, twice by Rohit Sharma.
6.Murali Vijay made his debut by replacing Gautam Gambhir in 2008. Eight years later, he opened the innings with the same player. Gambhir has been shelved, and Vijay is now the primary opener.
7.Gary Kirsten became India’s coach and took the team to a World Cup win in 2011. His contract ended post the World Cup win, and he joined the South African national side. He took them to No.1 in all formats, before leaving the post. He now runs an academy in South Africa.
8.Looking at India’s opponents in this series, England’s Haseeb Hameed, then aged 11, worked his way up the ladder, playing for England U-17, U-19 and the Lancashire side to finally play for England.
9.Ravindra Jadeja made his debut for the Indian team (2009). He is now Sir Ravindra Jadeja.
10.Parthiv Patel himself played for as many as five IPL teams.
11.India managed to achieve Test victories in New Zealand after 41 years and Sri Lanka after 22 years.
12.India played their first series in the United States earlier this year.
13.And finally, Sportskeeda was born.