Why promising Indian cricketer Smit Patel decided to relocate to USA

Success in U-19 cricket doesn’t always guarantee you a place in the senior national team. Many promising U-19 stars have failed to take the next big step in their respective careers.

Meet Smit Patel, a star at the 2012 U19 World Cup, who has retired from all forms of cricket under the Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) to play international cricket for the USA.

“It is not a decision that I have taken all of a sudden. For the past one and half months, I was pondering on my cricketing future in India. There are a couple of reasons for my decision to retire from the BCCI and move to the US. Firstly, I was trying to break into the national team for the past eight years. The competition in India for a wicketkeeper-batsman is so immense. Secondly, I want to stay close to my parents, who are living in the US alone for the past 11 years,” Smit Patel told IndiaToday.In from Pennsylvania.

The move had made Patel eligible to play franchise cricket. He will represent Barbados Tridents in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Smit Patel’s family had migrated from Gujarat to Pennsylvania in 2010. Patel’s father runs a gas station in Easton, where they currently live.

Smit’s parents wanted his only son to move to the US in 2010, but back then, the youngster was inspired by Virat Kohli, who had led the India U-19 to title triumph in 2008.

“Virat Kohli played a big role in my decision to stay in India and pursue my cricketing dreams. Under Virat’s captaincy, we won the U-19 World Cup in 2008, and that win inspired me to stick with cricket,” recollects Patel.

Smit Patel lived his dream of winning the U-19 World Cup title in 2012, and he played a crucial role with the bat in the final. Along with skipper Unmukt Chand, Patel added an unbeaten 130 runs for the fifth wicket against Australia to help India win the World Cup. Unmukt scored an unbeaten 111, while Patel stayed not out on 62.

“That victory in the U-19 world cup is the highest point of my life, and it was a special feeling. U-19 cricket is the most important moment of your junior career. At that point, you realise you have it in you to graduate to the next level. However, soon you realise that not everyone in your team is going to play for India. That is an ambition we all had at that time, but many factors have to align to make that happen,” said Patel.

After the highs of the U-19 World Cup win, Patel didn’t have a smooth transition to the senior Gujarat side. He had played U-22 cricket to earn his place in the senior team. However, he remained a second-choice wicketkeeper for Gujarat because of the presence of Parthiv Patel.

In search of more matches as a wicketkeeper-batsman, Patel became a journeyman in domestic cricket. He played for Gujarat, Tripura, Goa, and Baroda in the Ranji Trophy.

“It was frustrating, but when you see the competition in Indian cricket, it is quite surreal. I have no hard feelings. All my paperwork with the BCCI is completed now. My Indian chapter is over; it is time for me to start the next phase of my life in the USA,” said Patel.

“I am a green card holder, and I will qualify to play for the USA by August 2022. It is an excellent opportunity for me to play international cricket, which has always been my dream. I also have a two-year contract with the Major League Cricket (MLC), which is scheduled to kick off next year. I am looking forward to playing in it,” he added.

The 28-year-old has spent a couple of weeks with the US national team in Texas. The US cricket team is led by former Indian U-19 star Saurabh Netravalkar, part of the India U-19 World Cup team in 2010. Former Karnataka captain and coach J Arun Kumar is the head coach of the US cricket team.

“I spent a few days in the camp. The captain and coach welcomed me with an open hand. Although I still have to score runs and perform well with the gloves to earn my place in the team. I have been hustling for the past decade in India and will do the same in the US,” said Patel.

Patel has played 55 first-class matches in India with four different teams. He averages close to 40 and has scored 11 centuries and 14 half-centuries.

Patel’s only disappointment is that he was never picked by an Indian Premier League (IPL) team.

“I never got a chance to play in the IPL. Only Unmukt (Chand) and Sandeep (Sharma) got the IPL contract from our winning team in 2010. It was quite disappointing when you see players from the previous (2010 U-19 team) and later (2014 U-19 team) getting contracts. It did hurt a lot if given the opportunity to share the dressing room with the world’s best, could have propelled my career,” said Patel.

In 2012, Rajasthan Royals called Smit Patel for a trial, but the wicketkeeper-batsman could not make it since he was attending a West Zone U-25 camp in Pune. The other wicketkeeper-batsman who got the call for the trials alongside Patel was Sanju Samson. Sanju is the captain of the Rajasthan Royals now.

“Sanju got selected, and now he is the captain of Rajasthan Royals. Such is life,” said Patel.

Patel, still 28, with the best of his cricketing career lying ahead, will have a chance in his quest for redemption. He will play for a new team on the road, moving from one country to another. It will be chaotic, but he has always dreamt of dust, runs, centuries, and victories.