Rajneesh Gupta tells us why the wicket-keeper's return is special.
An injury to wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha has paved the way for Parthiv Patel to make an unexpected comeback to the Indian Test team, for the third Test against England, starting in Mohali, on Saturday, November 26.
Parthiv will be playing a Test after eight years and 105 days.
He last played for India in 2008 against Sri Lanka at Colombo PSS and since then has missed 83 Tests.
The 83 Tests and gap of eight years and 105 days are both new records for an Indian player between two Test appearances.
The previous record in terms of Tests was held by leg-spinner Piyush Chawla -- a gap of 49 Tests between his two appearances.
Parthiv appears twice in this list. His last appearance in 2008 had come after missing 43 Tests (and after three years, nine months) when he was called to don the gloves in Dinesh Karthik's place.
When Parthiv last played a Test in 2008, Anil Kumble was India's captain. Now when he makes a comeback, Kumble is India's coach!
Most Tests missed between two consecutive appearances for India:
| Tests missed | Player | Period | Span |
| 83 | Parthiv Patel | 8 years 105 days | August 2008-November 2016 |
| 49 | Piyush Chawla | 4 years 242 days | April 2008-December 2012 |
| 43 | Parthiv Patel | 3 years 282 days | October 2004-August 2008 |
| 40 | Arun Lal | 4 years 32 days | January 1983-February 1987 |
| 37 | Anshuman Gaekwad | 3 years 198 days | August 1979-February 1983 |
Longest gap between two Test appearances for India:
| Period | Player | Tests missed | Span |
| 8 years 105 days | Parthiv Patel | 83 | August 2008-November 2016 |
| 6 years 25 days | Mohinder Amarnath | 21 | December 1969-January 1976 |
| 6 years 7 days | Vijay Mehra | 28 | December 1955-December 1961 |
| 5 years 357 days | Dattaji Gaekwad | 20 | February 1953-February 1959 |
| 5 years 341 days | Abbas Ali Baig | 24 | January 1961-December 1966 |
| 5 years 308 days | Nana Joshi | 17 | March 1953-January 1959 |
| 5 years 92 days | Chandrakant Pandit | 33 | October 1986-January 1992 |
| 5 years 72 days | Vijay Merchant | 10 | August 1946-November 1951 |
The existing world record in terms of most Tests missed between two consecutive appearances is held by a member of the current England team -- Gareth Batty.
When he played at Chittagong against Bangladesh last month, it was after missing 142 Tests that off-spinner Batty played for England again (after 11 years 135 days).
Batty still does not hold the record for the longest gap between two Tests. The record belongs to England's George Gunn who had a gap of 17 years, 314 days between two appearances (from 1912 to 1930!).
In more recent times, Pakistan's Younis Ahmed was recalled from oblivion by Imran Khan in 1987 against India having played his last Test in 1969. Younis played after a gap of 17 years 109 days, to be second after Gunn.
