Parthiv Patel keen to play for India again, doesn't mind any role the team offers

New Delhi: From establishing a spot in the Indian cricket team at the tender age of 17 to later being out of action for quite a length period, it has been one heck of a journey for Parthiv Patel in the national team.

The Gujarat batsman, who won the Ranji Trophy last year with his native state last season, spoke about his plans of reclaiming a spot in the Indian team.

“At a young age, you usually don’t worry about anything. Same was the case when I was 17. It was just a dream come true for me (to represent India). I never sat and thought how big an opportunity was that. It was just a good time for me. The time of my life,” Parthiv said in a conversation with HT.

While many would think about just being consistent in keeping their qualities and touch intact after crossing the age mark of 30, Pathiv – the 32-year-old – is determined to increase his qualities further and help the teams he play for win tournaments.

“The main goal (now) is to improve my game, where I can get better, where I can help my team win tournaments. I want to be a better player every day.”

He further continued talking about his dreams, saying, "As a cricketer you have a few dreams,” said Parthiv.

“One of them is to play Test cricket. The other one to play Ranji Trophy. And now the IPL -- a tournament you want to be a part of and that too of a winning team. To get such a reward within an year’s time is very satisfying,” he expressed.

While MS Dhoni is still continuing as India's wicket-keeper in ODIs and T20Is, whereas, Wriddhiman Saha is the main man for the job in Tests, Parthiv also seems to have developed his techniques behind the stumps in the past two years.

“I haven’t changed much in wicket-keeping as far as technique is concerned. The only thing that I have done is realistic practices -- in terms of taking catches, effecting stumpings. In terms of wicket-keeping on a rough surface, I have changed my practice routine in a way that I don’t do both skills at a time, in one session. There is equal importance giving to both batting and wicket-keeping.

“As far as batting is concerned, I’ve made a few changes -- especially in terms of initial movements. And there is always a conscious effort of scoring hundreds. I’ve always maintained the mentality that whenever I’m in the middle as a wicket-keeper, I’m a specialist wicket-keeper. Whenever I’m in the middle as a batsman, I’m a specialist batsman,” he said.