Indian-born Timil Patel dons Stars & Stripes for new innings

Songs of melancholy were heard in the corridors of Motera when leg spinner Timil Patel expressed his unavailability to play for Gujarat in the 2010 first class season. Timil, along with his family, had decided to migrate to the US. Lack of quality spinners had troubled Gujarat and his departure simply blew the state’s chances away.

But Gujarat’s loss was America’s gain. On Wednesday, Timil was named captain of the US cricket team that will face Canada in the Auty Cup, a five-day event, in Toronto. USA is associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), which has 10 full members (all Test playing nations) and 37 associate members.

According to reports, Patel was tipped to be the captain after regular skipper Steven Taylor had violated the USA Cricket Association (USACA) tour protocol.

Incidentally, 29-year-old Patel, now settled in Los Angeles, made his debut for the US in November 2012 in Florida against Canada during the previous Auty Cup series. In that series, he was stand-in captain after Taylor suffered a leg injury.

“Being named the US captain is an enormous honour and I am grateful to USACA for this opportunity. We have a young team that is determined to do well and win the Auty Cup back for the US,” Timil reportedly said.

“Last year, it was very difficult losing to Canada. I have been working hard in the lead-up to this year’s competition and I hope to lead by example. Robin is a very tactical coach and demands the best from players. As captain, I intend to assist him to ensure that our players understand our roles and that we work as a unit on the field. I am really looking forward to the challenge,” Timil was quoted as saying.

Former India all-rounder Robin Singh is the US coach. He has faith in Timil’s ability and expects him to deliver. “I expect the US team to be very competitive and give a really good account of ourselves. I am hopeful of some great performances from our captain Timil Patel,” the coach was quoted by a cricket website. Timil is accompanied by another Patel – Mittal – in the 14-member team.

Before leaving for USA, Timil had 38 first class caps with 72 scalps to his credit. Timil, who came to the side as specialist spinner, gradually developed his batting skills, too. In fact, he played his last first class game in November 2009 against Himachal Pradesh in Surat where he opened the batting. Timil had represented Gujarat in U-14, U-19 and Ranji Trophy.

Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel was equally delighted with his friend’s feat. “This is a proud moment for us. USA might be an associate member team, but leading a national team is always a player’s dream. Moreover, he has the experience of first class cricket and having captained U-19 Gujarat and West Zone teams must have gone in his favour,” gushed Parthiv, who has shared the dressing room with Timil since their U-14 days for Gujarat.