The former Indian wicketkeeper-batter, Parthiv Patel is reportedly set to join the Gujarat Titans as their batting mentor for the coming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
According to a report by the Times of India (TOI), “Sources close to developments reveal that Patel will join the support staff led by former India cricketer Ashish Nehra”.
Patel will take over the role from the former South Africa international and ODI World Cup-winning coach, Gary Kirsten who has since left the Titans to be Pakistan’s white-ball Head Coach. It will be a welcome addition as he represented Gujarat in domestic cricket during his playing career and led the state team to their first title by beating Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy final for the 2016-17 season.
The 39-year-old has represented the national team in all three formats and is also the youngest wicketkeeper to represent the country in Tests when he made his debut in 2002.
He has also been around various franchises in the IPL. He began by representing the Chennai Super Kings from 2008 to 2010 and then made the switch to the now defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise. He then made the switch to the Deccan Chargers in 2012, followed by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2012. He played for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2014 and then went to Mumbai Indians for from 2015 to 2017. His final stint in the IPL was with RCB from 2018-2020.
In December 2020, he had announced his retirement from all forms of cricket and had joined the Mumbai Indians in a scouting role. He is also a commentator in IPL along with international matches as well.
GT will be looking to get themselves back in contention for winning their second IPL title after a fairly disappointing campaign in the 2024 season where they were unable to make it to the playoffs for the first time since their debut after finishing eight on the points table.
Patel would hope that his partnership with Nehra can be the perfect mix to help mentor a young captain in Shubman Gill to help bring success back to the Titans.
The side have some fine talents within the squad, but it will be interesting to see who the franchise will look to keep as the retention deadline approaches.
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