Wicketkeeper returns to India's Test side more than eight years after his most recent Test
India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has been ruled out of the third Test against England in Mohali, prompting selectors to recall Parthiv Patel after eight years in the Test wilderness.
Patel, 31, last played a Test in August 2008 after making his debut as a 17-year-old against England in 2002 at Trent Bridge.
The left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman, who averages 29.69 from 20 Test matches, played all four Tests on India's tour of Australia in 2003-04.
His return to the side after an absence of eight years and 107 days means he will break the Indian record for the longest gap between Tests for players whose careers weren't interrupted by the Second World War.
While several Indian players in the 1930s and 1940s lost around 10 years of their career due to the war, Patel is the only Indian player in peace time to be forced to wait more than eight years between Tests.
Of all players to have debuted since World War II, only 15 have waited longer between Tests for the same country.
The most recent of these was England spinner Gareth Batty, who returned to the Test side for the first Test against Bangladesh in October after an absence of 11 years and 137 days.
In the ongoing Ranji Trophy, Patel has made 415 runs in eight innings at an average of 59.28 to go with 17 dismissals behind the stumps.
Saha sustained a left thigh strain during India's 246-run win in the second Test at Visakhapatnam, which handed the home side a 1-0 series lead.
"As a precautionary measure, Saha has been advised to rest and will not play in the next Test match," a statement from the Indian cricket board said.
India's selectors have also dropped veteran opener Gautam Gambhir for the final three Tests, after he was replaced by the returning Lokesh Rahul in Visakhapatnam.
Medium-pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been called into the 16-man squad.
India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane (vc), KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Karun Nair, Parthiv Patel (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya.
Longest wait between Tests for same country (since WWII)
- Younis Ahmed (Pak) - 17y 111d
- Les Jackson (Eng) - 11y 345d
- Derek Shackleton (Eng) - 11y 225d
- Gareth Batty (Eng) - 11y 137d
- Floyd Reifer (WI) - 10y 172d
- Mark Vermeulen (Zim) - 10y 84d
- Martin Bicknell (Eng) - 10y 12d
- Bob Simpson (Aus) - 9y 305d
- Don Taylor (NZ) - 8y 344d
- Prosper Utseya (Zim) - 8y 316d
- Brian Close (Eng) - 8y 280d
- Tinashe Panyangara (Zim) - 8y 228d
- Keith Andrew (Eng) - 8y 187d
- Wayne Larkins (Eng) - 8y 176d
- Parthiv Patel (Ind) - 8y 107d (if he plays the third Test)
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