Parthiv Patel knows as long as MS Dhoni is around, he will only be India's second-best wicketkeeper. He considers it as a motivation to continue.
"You play the game because you want to turn out in India's colours. That has always been a huge motivation," Parthiv said on the eve of India's first ODI against the West Indies at the Queen's Park Oval on Monday.
After an impressive start to his international career in 2002, things suddenly went wrong for the cherubic 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman.
But years of toil in the domestic circuit and advices from seniors and friends helped Parthiv find his bearings.
He said: "I received great help from Kiran More, Anshuman Gaekwad, and of course, Dhoni.
"It's been beneficial to see how Dhoni goes about his work. The best lesson that one could learn by watching him is to notice how relaxed he is," Parthiv said of India's regular skipper.
Looking back at his career, Patel felt it was lapse of concentration than anything else that cost him his career.
"Some said I wasn't receiving the ball well. Others pointed out that I was getting up too soon (while receiving the ball). But I think it was just a lapse of concentration," he said.
His equanimity once helped India save a Test against England from a difficult situation. But, somehow, Parthiv failed to keep the promise he had showed initially.
"Certain things are accepted. If you perform well, you stay in the team. If you don't, you go out. Frankly, when I was out, I wasn't keeping well. I didn't deserve to remain in the team," a candid Parthiv said.
Still, it wasn't easy for him as suddenly a life of stardom was turned into one of obscurity.
"It sure wasn't easy. But you needed to find your way back. You needed to improve," he concluded.
Parthiv, who made his T20 international debut for India last Saturday, surprisingly played only 18 ODIs in a career spanning nine years, but is expected to play all the five ODIs against West Indies in the next few days.
After an impressive start to his international career in 2002, things suddenly went wrong for the cherubic 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman.
But years of toil in the domestic circuit and advices from seniors and friends helped Parthiv find his bearings.
He said: "I received great help from Kiran More, Anshuman Gaekwad, and of course, Dhoni.
"It's been beneficial to see how Dhoni goes about his work. The best lesson that one could learn by watching him is to notice how relaxed he is," Parthiv said of India's regular skipper.
Looking back at his career, Patel felt it was lapse of concentration than anything else that cost him his career.
"Some said I wasn't receiving the ball well. Others pointed out that I was getting up too soon (while receiving the ball). But I think it was just a lapse of concentration," he said.
His equanimity once helped India save a Test against England from a difficult situation. But, somehow, Parthiv failed to keep the promise he had showed initially.
"Certain things are accepted. If you perform well, you stay in the team. If you don't, you go out. Frankly, when I was out, I wasn't keeping well. I didn't deserve to remain in the team," a candid Parthiv said.
Still, it wasn't easy for him as suddenly a life of stardom was turned into one of obscurity.
"It sure wasn't easy. But you needed to find your way back. You needed to improve," he concluded.
Parthiv, who made his T20 international debut for India last Saturday, surprisingly played only 18 ODIs in a career spanning nine years, but is expected to play all the five ODIs against West Indies in the next few days.
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