He quit his plush job in Canada and shifted to Vadodara over a decade ago to pursue his dream of seeing his son, Ansh Patel, play for the Indian national cricket team. Pradip Patel’s dream has finally come true. But not entirely. Ansh is all set to play for a national cricket team, but not the Indian one. He has been picked for the Canadian cricket squad that will play in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2.
“It’s a rare case of a cricketer honing his skills in India with the hope of playing for the Indian cricket team but instead getting a break in the Canadian national team. Ansh is a talented all-rounder who has proved his mettle and performed well in several cricket tournaments,” said Snehal Parikh, Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) CEO.
Ansh was among the top players in the BCA and considered to be a probable for the Indian team. But the BCCI’s decision to allow only those with Indian passports to play in the cricket board’s tournaments turned the world upside down for Ansh.
Initially, I was disappointed. I shifted to Vadodara with a dream of playing for the Indian team and was probably close to it. But destiny probably had something else in store for me as I returned to Canada and got a big break there,” Ansh said.
Ansh shifted to Canada three months ago and got an opportunity to play in the Super 9 Tournament followed by the Central T20 Tournament in Aug this year. “He took 17 wickets in the five league games and bagged four in the finals. Ansh won Man of the Series, best bowler, and Man of the Match award in that series. The Canadian cricket management noticed his talent and picked him for their national team,” Pradip added. In 2012, Pradip shifted to Vadodara with his family and got Ansh into YSC Academy. Ansh went on to play in the Under-14, Under-16, Under-19, and Under-23 tournaments for the BCA and put up some terrific performances. He was also picked up by the Kings XI Punjab team in IPL in 2022.
