Nottinghamshire allrounder Samit Patel had been called up to England’s Test squad for next month’s tour against Pakistan in UAE as a replacement for the injured Zafar Ansari.
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Speaking after his call-up, Patel said he thought his England chance had gone.
Patel’s only previous Test experience came on the tours of Sri Lanka and India in 2012 and he has only managed four wickets and 109 runs in his England career to date.
Ansari has undergone an MRI scan and will begin a process of rehabilitation before a decision is taken over his participation in the England Performance Programme and Lions squad which will travel to the UAE.
England Test squad: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Samit Patel, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood.
“I didn’t know I was even close until two or three days ago and Mick (Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket) told me I was in just before we went out on the field today”.
The 30-year-old also disclosed that he was initially looking to holiday in Dubai next week, but is more than happy to cancel his plans in order to make the trip with the England team.
Expressing his views on Zafar, Whitaker stated that it was fairly unlucky that he had suffered the damage on the day of his choice, and revealed that he’s naturally depressed to have to tug out of the tour, Sport24 reported.
“I didn’t think this day would come again”, he said after Notts’ County Championship game with Hampshire.
“With the bat, everybody knows the Pakistan spinners are going to play a big part and batting against slow bowling is something I’m confident in doing”.
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England arrive in the UAE on September 30, with the first Test to begin on October 13.
