Mumbai Indians (MI) wicketkeeper-batsmen Parthiv Patel and Jos Buttler had the best of the Twitter exchanges before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 opener starting April 5. It all started when MI posted a video on their Twitter account featuring Jos Buttler involved in a catching practice where Buttler was edging the ball and Parthiv was keeping the stumps. The wicketkeeping drill became a topic of banter between the MI teammates.
In the video, Buttler was edging the ball with a rather small bat whereas Parthiv was moving sideways with agility behind the stumps. Buttler started the banter as he tweeted from his account, “Parthiv Patel appealing for everything as usual” tagging his teammate.
#MIcam – Wicket-keeping drill with @josbuttler & @parthiv9. #CricketMeriJaan pic.twitter.com/lHYsnQiGSe
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 4, 2017
Parthiv was in no mood to back down from the battle as he had a prompt reply to Buttler’s tweet. Parthiv tweeted tagging Buttler, “And u [sic] were keep hitting the edge of the bat as usual”. Parthiv ended his tweet with a ‘wink’ smiley.
@parthiv9 appealing for everything as usual! https://t.co/Qh9NlIEJzj
— Jos Buttler (@josbuttler) April 4, 2017
Mumbai Indians will be playing their first game of IPL 2017 against Rising Pune Supergiant who will be captained by the new skipper, Steven Smith. Good news came in for Mumbai Indians as their skipper Rohit Sharma was declared fit for the first game just in time.
@josbuttler And u were keep hitting the edge of the bat as usual..
— parthiv patel (@parthiv9) April 4, 2017
Their team finished on the fifth spot in IPL 2016 as they missed the qualifiers by a whisker. They will be looking to repeat the heroics of IPL 2013 and 2015 editions when they won the title. In doing so they need the spirit Parthiv-Buttler share off the field. Their form will be crucial for MI’s survival this season.
