Parthiv praises Saha, makes veiled attack on umpires

Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel praised the match-wining, career-best double century of rival stumper Wridhiman Saha for Rest of India in the Irani Cup game that ended here today, while also mentioning the poor standards of umpiring in domestic cricket.
"He (Saha) took his chances really well. That was obviously the right approach because if they had tried to defend, they would have struggled. It was the right approach and it clicked well for them," said Parthiv of Saha's brilliant, counter-attacking 203 not out.
Saha and Rest captain Cheteshwar Pujara (116 not out) stitched a triple century stand, the second highest ever in the tournament history, as Rest comfortably chased the target of 379 set by Gujarat and won by six wickets with more than two sessions to spare on the fifth and last day of the match.

"We would have liked him to play with a defensive approach, but he took his chances and we were thinking that one might pop up and we will get a wicket. But everything went his way," added Parthiv who is currently Saha's closest rival for a spot as wicket keeper in Tests.
On umpiring, of which he got the rough end of the stick in the Gujarat second innings, Parthiv said, "I obviously cannot talk anything about my decision, but overall, it is very unfortunate to see that there are a few guys who are making so many mistakes and you see them in big games.

"It's unfortunate to see guys who keep on making mistakes and you see them going on (officiating) in big games like a semi-final, final and Irani Cup.

"We do speak to the president (of BCCI) or whenever there's a captain's conclave. Or even if we feel like, we can address it straight to others in the BCCI," he added.
Recalling the successful domestic season that saw Gujarat win the Ranji Trophy for the first ever time, Parthiv said the team has seen some top drawer stuff like openers Priyank Panchal and Samit Gohil scoring more than 1,000 runs apiece.
"When the season started, if someone would have said that we will be the champions and we will play the Irani Trophy, we would have taken it with both hands. We have seen some outstanding performances. Priyank getting 1,300 runs; Samit got thousand runs and a world record.

"But the ultimate result is winning the Ranji Trophy and we have achieved that.