Feels good to represent India as keeper with nine fingers – Parthiv Patel

India’s out of favour wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel has revealed that he played only with nine fingers. Patel disclosed that his left-hand little finger got stuck in the door and it got cut when he was only six years old. Thus, Patel had to practice with only nine fingers.

Patel said that he had to tape down the gloves so that the cut finger stayed joint. The Gujarat veteran added it was difficult to play only with nine fingers but it adjusted his game accordingly. It is never easy for a batsman as the little finger helps in balancing and grip of the bat. Similarly, it must have been difficult to keep the wickets as well.

In fact, Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins also has the same story like Parthiv Patel and he has gone on to become the World’s best fast bowler. Cummins is currently the number one Test bowler in the world.

“My finger came in the door when I was six, and it got cut,” Parthiv said while speaking in a new series called Cow Corner Chronicles.

“It is slightly difficult in a way because the last finger doesn’t fit in the wicket-keeping gloves. So I tape it down to the gloves so that it stays jointed. I don’t know how it would’ve been if I had all the fingers, but when I look back, it feels good to represent India as a wicketkeeper with nine fingers,” Parthiv added.

Meanwhile, Parthiv Patel made his Test debut against England when he was only 17 years old. The southpaw batsman played 25 Test matches in which he scored 934 runs at an average of 31.13 and took 62 catches and affected 10 stumpings. The wicket-keeper batsman played his last Test against South Africa in 2018.

On the other hand, the 35-year played 38 ODIs for the Indian team in which he scored 736 runs at a paltry average of 23.74. Thus, he could not grab his opportunities with both hands and when MS Dhoni came on to the scene, there was no place for Parthiv Patel in any format.

Patel also played two T20Is for India and has featured 139 IPL matches in which he scored 2848 runs at an average of 22.6. Meanwhile, Patel played 194 first-class matches in which he scored 11240 runs at 43.39.