Parthiv Patel, it seems, has been playing forever. He made his India debut before turning and was also the part of the World Cup squad in South Africa in 2003 when the team qualified for the final. He also played a few Tests before being dropped from both the formats and soon went down the pecking order upon MS Dhoni‘s arrival. Moreover, Dhoni becoming the captain of the team didn’t help Parthiv’s cause either.
Despite not being picked for the national side consistently, Parthiv Patel kept on playing in domestic circuit and plundered runs and the hunger helped him make a stunning comeback on South Africa tour in Johannesburg Test in 2018. Many praise him for the way he has stuck it out for so long but very few are aware of the fact that Parthiv Patel has only nine finger. Yes, the pocket-sized dynamo doesn’t have a baby finger on his left hand.
Recalling the incident, Parthiv stated that he was only six years old when it happened. The baby finger on his left hand got stuck in the door and it got cut. He also revealed that it is a bit tough to be a wicketkeeper with nine fingers and his baby finger doesn’t fit in the gloves. “My finger came in the door when I was six (years old) and it got cut,” he said during an Insta live session.
It feels good that I played for India with nine fingers, says Parthiv Patel
However, Parthiv Patel mentioned that he tapes the glove with the finger so that it stays jointed and doesn’t face any problem while playing. But the left-hander is proud of the fact that he has represented his country as a wicket-keeper at the highest level only with nine fingers.
“It is slightly difficult in a way because the last finger doesn’t fit in the wicket-keeping gloves. So I tape it down the gloves so that it stays joint. 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 wicket-keeper with nine fingers,” the 35-year-old added.