Samit Patel eyeing Test cap

England all-rounder Samit Patel has set sights on making his Test debut during upcoming tour to Sri Lanka. Patel and Ravi Bopara are two strong contenders for the spot left vacant after the omission of Eoin Morgan.

The two-match Test series in Sri Lanka is scheduled to start on March 26. Patel has become an integral of English one-day setup following his consistent performance over the past few months. However, the 27-year-old all-rounder is yet to show his talent
in the longest version of the game.

"I am looking forward to getting a spot on the Test team," Patel told reporters in Colombo. Its a massive opportunity and I will push my case in the warm-up games. One of my goals is to play Test cricket. I’ve always wanted to do that. I want to play all
formats for England. It’s easy to get here, the toughest bit is staying in the squad and staying in the team. I’m ready to come in and bat where I’m asked to bat, and do the job with the ball. I’m comfortable with the role I’ve been set," said Patel.

The islanders are currently engaged in Asia Cup for which the cricket gurus are rating them favourite. On their recent trip to Australia, the Lankans performed magnificently and gave Australia a real hard time in the best-of-three finals of the tri-series.
The Sri Lankans are on top of their game at the moment, and Patel was not reluctant to admit that it will not be a tough outing for the Poms in Sri Lanka.

"Beating Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka is a massive challenge. Having said that, staying on top of the Test ranking and hanging onto it for another year is also challenging. Fitness is a key factor and everyone has to work hard on their fitness — some more than
others. It’s probably an issue that will stay with me, but I’m not frustrated. The more work you do, the better you feel. Hopefully I am doing the right things now," added the talented all-rounder who faced heavy criticism at the start of his career due to
his fitness issues.

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Mar 13 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry