One of the youngest player to have played Test cricket for India at the age of 17, Parthiv Patel, on Wednesday, December 9, announced his retirement from all forms of the game.
This announcement comes just three month's short of his 36th birthday. The last time we saw Patel in a match was in 2018 during the Test series in South Africa. Patel has played for over 18 years in the Indian Cricket team.
"Today, I announce retirement from all forms of cricket and as I bring down curtains on this 18 year-old cricketing journey, I feel heavier with gratitude for many," the 35-year-old Parthiv revealed on social media.
— parthiv patel (@parthiv9) December 9, 2020
Parthiv, who made his Test debut under Sourav Ganguly, has played 65 international games for the country, which included 25 Tests, 38 ODIs and two T20 Internationals.
Soon after he announced his retirement, tributes started to pour in from his teammates. Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar wrote on Twitter: "Congratulations on a wonderful career, Parthiv! You never say never attitude is something that has always stood out for me and I still remember the gutsy innings you played against Pakistan at Rawalpindi as an opener. All the very best for your future endeavours my friend."
Congratulations on a wonderful career, Parthiv!
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) December 9, 2020
Your never say never attitude is something that has always stood out for me and I still remember the gutsy innings you played against Pakistan at Rawalpindi as an opener.
All the very best for your future endeavours my friend. pic.twitter.com/iuWhcvjv68
Other players, who took to Twitter and wished Patel include, Virendra Sehwag, Jasprit Bumrah, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin and fast bowler Jhulan Goswami.
Congratulations #ParthivPatel on a very good career. Your determination to continue to work hard and dream big despite many challenges was fantastic and I wish the best for you in the future. Happy retirement Nikke ! pic.twitter.com/P0d4E0WjDk
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) December 9, 2020
Good luck for what the future holds,@parthiv9 and congratulations on a superb career! It was a pleasure playing alongside you.😁
— Jasprit Bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) December 9, 2020
Well done on a wonderful career👏👏..I totally enjoyed playing with and against you over the years and wish you the best for whatever you take up next.👍🏻 https://t.co/oEojamn3z8
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) December 9, 2020
Congratulations #ParthivPatel on a wonderful career! A hardworking cricketer. Wishing you the best for your life ahead. Happy retirement! 🇮🇳👍🏽 @parthiv9
— Jhulan Goswami (@JhulanG10) December 9, 2020
The left-handed batsman scored nearly 1,700 runs (1696) across formats with 934 runs (6 half-centuries) coming in the longest format. In ODIs, he scored 736 runs with four half-centuries and a highest score of 95. He affected 72 dismissals in Tests, which include 62 catches and 10 stumpings.,
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video highlighting Patel's cricket career. Also, one of Patel's IPL teams Royal Challengers Bangalore also wished the cricketer a happy retirement.
Surprisingly, he played his first Ranji Trophy after he was dropped from the India squad in 2004 due to below-par glovework on tours of Australia and Pakistan.
But he did become a domestic legend and before retirement, played an astonishing 194 first-class games in which he had scored 11,240 runs with 27 hundreds at an average of 43 plus. In addition to it, 194 List A games and 204 T20 games, Parthiv had a long run but it was just that Dhoni was a few lightyears ahead as a performer.
Moreover, Parthiv has played for a lot of IPL teams, including Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) during the last 13 editions. Probably not getting a game in this IPL edition for RCB was decisive in his case.