Wriddhiman Saha has been ruled out of the third Test vs Englanbd due to a side strain on his left thigh. Parthiv Patel has been named as his replacement.
“BCCI medical team confirms that India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha developed a strain in his left thigh during the second match of the five-match Paytm Test Series-2016, played against England at Visakhapatnam,” a BCCI media release read.
Parthiv Patel last represented India in 2012 when he played an ODI against Sri Lanka during the Tri-Series game in Brisbane. He was called as a standby for Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the Asia Cup 2016, which was played in Bangladesh. His last appearance in the longest format of the game came way back in 2008 against Sri Lanka at Colombo.
Parthiv led Gujarat to a successful Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign last year, crushing Delhi in the final of the tournament. In the current Ranji Trophy season, he has scored a total of 415 runs in five games which include one century and three half-centuries.
His selection in the team comes as a surprise as selectors neglected rookie Rishabh Pant for him. Pant is the highest run-scorer in current Ranji season with 874 runs to his name so far. It can be said that selectors have decided to go with experience over form.
As of now, Parthiv is in for only one Test but a good performance will surely keep him in the frame for the series (Australia, Bangladesh) to come.