'It was a pleasure to captain him,' Sourav Ganguly hails Parthiv Patel

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly congratulated Parthiv Patel, who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Wednesday, saying "it was a please to captain him".

Ganguly, who is the current president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was the captain of the Indian team when a baby-faced Parthiv made his debut for India in 2002. The wicketkeeper-batsman played 15 Tests and 10 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) under Ganguly between 2002 and 2004.

"Parthiv has been a brilliant ambassador for Indian cricket. He has always been a team man and it was a pleasure to Captain him when he made his international debut at the age of seventeen. His hard work has earned him laurels in international and domestic cricket," Ganguly said in a BCCI statement.

"I congratulate him on a fantastic career and wish him the very best for his future endeavours. His performance in the Ranji Trophy final to win Gujarat their only title will always be remembered in the history of Gujarat cricket," Ganguly's statement further read.

The 35-year-old Parthiv, who led Gujarat to their first Ranji Trophy title in the 2016-17 season, made a special mention about Ganguly in his emotional retirement post on social media.

"I am thankful to all the captains I have played under. I am especially indebted to Dada, my first captain, who showed immense faith in me. I feel privileged to have been in the company of and learnt from some stellar teammates, a lot whom I can call friends today," Parthiv wrote.

Over the 18 years, since his debut, Parthiv made several comebacks in the Indian team, but it is his success with his state team – a side he transformed into champions from mere underdogs – has given him the utmost satisfaction.

Speaking about his retirement, Parthiv told reporters," I think the timing is right. I've been contemplating (it) almost for a year now. I was taking it season-by-season. I felt that this was probably the right time, having played 18 years of first-class cricket and India career. I'm satisfied and content with the career I've had. There's hardly anything left to achieve as a player and as a captain of a first-class team. We've won almost everything. I've been part of three IPL title wins. I also feel that Gujarat cricket is in very good shape right now."

Parthiv ended his career, having scored 11,240 runs in 194 First-Class matches, including 27 centuries and 62 fifties. In addition, he was also a part of six different teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he managed 13 fifties over 139 games.