Tendulkar congratulates Parthiv on wonderful career, remembers knock against Pak
Dec 09, 2020
New Delhi [India], December 9 : Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday congratulated Parthiv Patel for a wonderful career and said the wicketkeeper's 'never say never' attitude always stood out for him.
Tendulkar also lauded Parthiv's 69-run knock against Pakistan as an opener at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in 2004. India won the match by an innings and 131 runs after scoring 600 runs in the first innings. The visitors bundled Pakistan out for 224 and 245. In that game, Rahul Dravid played a knock of 270 runs, which remains his highest score in the longest format of the game. He was also awarded the Player of the Match trophy.
Taking to Twitter Tendulkar wrote," Congratulations on a wonderful career, Parthiv! 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."
Earlier in the day, Parthiv announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Former India batsman VVS Laxman wished Parthiv luck for his second innings.
"Congrats PP on a wonderful career. Will forever cherish some of the memorable moments we shared together. I am sure you will continue to contribute to the game. Good luck for your 2nd innings," Laxman wrote on his Twiter post.
Parthiv had made his debut in 2002 against England at Trent Bridge, aged 17 years and 153 days, becoming Test cricket's youngest wicket-keeper at the time.
The wicket-keeper was the frontline choice in the longest format for a couple of years, but with MS Dhoni emerging in international cricket, Parthiv ended up losing his spot.
In 2016, Parthiv made his comeback in the Test series against England as a replacement for the then injured Wriddhiman Saha. As a result, Parthiv played his first Test in eight years.
In the 50-over format, the wicket-keeper batsman made his debut in 2003. He was also a part of the 2003 World Cup squad, but he didn't get a chance to feature in the playing XI.
Parthiv played 25 Tests, 2 T20Is, and 38 ODIs for India, managing to score 1,706 runs across all formats. The wicket-keeper batsman also represented Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
