MS Dhoni was the tough competitor for every Indian wicketkeeper who was finding a place in the Indian team. The wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel had expressed that as MS Dhoni had cemented his place in the team as a first-choice wicketkeeper, it was hard for him to get the place. On Tuesday, Parthiv revealed that he was disappointed when he didn’t get the place in India’s squad for the 2007-2008 tour because of tough competition.
Dhoni had gained the trust as the reliable player behind the stumps after he entered the Indian team. Having made the debut in 2004, he got the place in the Test team in 2005 and became a regular feature in the most extended format whereas Parthiv lost his place in the team because of Dhoni’s exceptional performance with his gloves as well as his bat.
Parthiv Patel on his competition as MS Dhoni owned the position:
In the Instagram live session with RP Singh, Parthiv Patel said that he was disappointed when he was not named in the squad for the Australia tour in 2008 though he knew that he was fighting for second wicket-keeper slot.
“It is important to be in the right place at the right time. When the team got selected for the Australia tour in 2008, I was competing for the second wicket-keeper slot as Dhoni had cemented his place as the first-choice pick. I was disappointed when I did not get picked in the squad,” Parthiv told RP Singh during the session.
MS Dhoni proved himself as a strong contender before becoming a veteran:
“Dilip Vengsarkar was the chairman of selectors, he called me and said you have been performing well, keep at it and then he told me that I was not selected for Australia,” he said.
Parthiv has played 25 Tests, 38 ODIs for India. He had made his debut in 2002 against England and the youngest wicket-keeper to play the game of cricket at the age of 17.