India tour of South Africa: After scoring a plethora of runs in domestic cricket, Indian batsman Priyank Panchal finally received an Indian call-up ahead of the three-match Test series against South Africa. Reportedly, Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the Test series due to a hamstring injury and Priyank Panchal has been selected as his replacement.
Priyank Panchal recently led the India A team on the tour of South Africa. He, in fact, came from the tour three days back. He was previously picked as a standby during England’s tour of South Africa earlier this year.
“It was just three days back that I returned home from South Africa. I hadn’t even unpacked properly, and now, I find myself landing in Mumbai (to join the Team India bio-bubble)” he said.
“I’ve been doing well since the last few years for Gujarat and India ‘A’, and I’ve been waiting for this chance for many years, but I didn’t expect to get this chance. This is a pleasant surprise.” He added.
For the unversed, Priyank Panchal plays for Gujarat Cricket Team in domestic cricket. He has been a prolific run-scorer for the team for the last few years. Overall, the 31-year-old cricketer has amassed 7011 runs from 100 first-class games at an average of 45.52, including 24 centuries and 25 fifties.
Priyank Panchal, however, didn’t get the opportunity to represent the team for a very long time. He also admitted having self-doubts after having been reprieved of the opportunity to don the Indian jersey.
“It’s natural to feel a bit low after not getting a chance while I was scoring so many runs. However, my personality is such that I was always thinking: ‘What am I lacking now as a batsman? If I want to play for India, then what should I do to become more impactful? What kind of a game is required in international cricket?’ I’m glad that all my hard work and persistence have finally paid off,” Priyank mentioned.
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