Fevered Pitch

It may have been England this summer which put Parthiv on the world cricketing map, but it actually began in Dhaka, where the 16-year-old le...

Parthiv Patel,
Test cricketer
at Dhanahutar Pol, Ahmedabad

THE adulation, the hero-worship, the emulation 8212; it8217;s as familiar to him as the 10215;20 feet 8216;pitch8217; just beyond his doorstep. The only difference is that till about a couple of months ago, he was doing the gawking and the autograph-hunting. Now, Par-thiv Patel is at the receiving end.

It may have been England this summer which put Parthiv on the world cricketing map, but it actually began in Dhaka, where the 16-year-old led the Indian Under-17 team to an Asia Cup victory, or at New Zealand, where he led the U-19 team. Or maybe it began right here, in Dhanahutar Pol 8212; pols are a part of the original architecture of Ahmedabad, built on the central courtyard model 8212; where Parthiv has been playing bat-ball ever since he was four. 8216;8216;This lane has seen us hit plenty of fours and sixes,8217;8217; he grins. Not unusually, all Parthiv8217;s friends play cricket, and England hasn8217;t changed any of the boisterousness of the galli game.

8216;8216;I used to be this big cheat as a child,8217;8217; remembers the 17-year-old. 8220;If the first ball got me out, I would just pick up the stumps 8212; they were mine 8212; and run off home. My friends would plead with me to come back, but I8217;d return with the stumps only if they let me continue batting!8217;8217;

As with another little wonder some 400 km to the south, there never was a time Parthiv wasn8217;t sleeping, breathing, eating cricket. 8216;8216;For as long as I can remember, I have played cricket for at least two hours a day, everyday, except perhaps when I was ill or for two weeks before exams. Despite leading the U-16 and U-19 teams to international tournaments, when I learnt on television I was in the Test side, it took some time to sink in. We had people dropping in to congratulate me till 2 in the night,8217;8217; smiles Parthiv.

For all that, he hasn8217;t lost sight of the 8216;real8217; celebrities. 8216;8216;I will always remember the first time I met Sachin Tendulkar,8217;8217; he says, the awe audible in his voice. 8216;8216;He was walking down the stairs while I was going up. He stopped me, and said, 8216;Congratulations8217;.8217;8217;

The feeling was similar when Parthiv walked out onto the field after first wicket-keeper Ajay Ratra suffered an injury and had to be substituted in the second match against England. 8216;8216;Facing the field and big-time players made me nervous and anxious8230; after all, it wasn8217;t just another game,8217;8217; he says.

The diminutive cricketer is pushing the boundaries of his world, but he is still looking for the fours and sixes.