Dubai: UAE’s star wicketkeeper-batsman Swapnil Patil said it was ‘hard work’ which helped him to acclimatise to testing conditions on the recent tour of Scotland and Ireland. Patel hit a century against Scotland in a three-day match in Southampton and topscored for his team against Ireland in the second innings with a fighting half-century.
Speaking to Gulf News on his knock of 100 against Scotland in the toughest of conditions, Patil said: “It was not easy to adapt to England conditions but my hard work and hours of training before going to Scotland and Ireland helped me immensely. I am happy that I got a century against Scotland as I had missed it against them in my debut one-day match during the World Cup qualifiers and remained unbeaten on 99.”
Patil had cracked an unbeaten 57 against the star-studded South African bowling attack led by Dale Steyn in the 2015 World Cup. When asked about how he adapts to the longer format of the game after the shorter version, Patil said: “I have a simple theory and that is to play according to the situation and adapting to the conditions. One of the main reasons I am getting runs in all formats must be because whether I played Twenty20, One-dayer or three and four-day matches, I try to enjoy my innings.”
Patil, who scored a fighting 63 against Ireland in the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup, also attributed his ability to adapt to four-day games to the experience he gained as a youngster while playing for the Mumbai Under-23 team alongside Indian stars Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane.
“As a youngster representing Mumbai, I used to play in a lot of two- and three-day matches. I am so happy to score in longer version international matches too.”
Patil is now working hard for the upoming ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers to be held in Ireland next month. “I am able to work very hard mainly due to my employer Shiva Pagarani, who releases me for training or matches and all international tours from my work. I can play cricket regularly like I used to do in Mumbai due to this factor,” said Patil who got a hero’s welcome in his village Vasai, a distant suburb of Mumbai on his return after playing in the World Cup.
“When I return from Dubai for holidays, only my brothers come to receive me. This time, all my relatives came to give me a welcome. When I reached my village, all the village residents gave me an unforgettable reception. This huge response from them has given me the boost to continue to perform well in international matches,” he said.
“My next aim is to score heavily in Twenty20 and help UAE qualify again for the Twenty20 World Cup. I will continue to work hard during the camp,” said Patil, who is also working hard to sharpen his wicketkeeping skills.
