Why promising Indian cricketer Smit Patel decided to relocate to USA

Smit Patel, 28, who scored a crafty unbeaten half-century in the 2008 U-19 World Cup final against Australia, has retired from all forms of cricket under the BCCI to play international cricket for the USA. The wicketkeeper-batsman will represent the Barbados Trident in the Carribean Premier League in August.

Success in U-19 cricket doesn’t always guarantee you a place in the senior national team. Many promising U-19 stars have failed to take the next big step in their respective careers. Meet Smit Patel, a star at the 2012 U19 World Cup, who has retired from all forms of cricket under the Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) to play international cricket for the USA. “It is not a decision that I have taken all of a sudden. For the past one and half months, I was pondering on my cricketing future in India. There are a couple of reasons for my decision to retire from the BCCI and move to the US. Firstly, I was trying to break into the national team for the past eight years. The competition in India for a wicketkeeper-batsman is so immense. Secondly, I want to stay close to my parents, who are living in the US alone for the past 11 years,” Smit Patel told IndiaToday.In from Pennsylvania.