Parthiv Patel is not your regular 18 year-old.

He has played international cricket for India, the youngest wicket-keeper ever to play in Test cricket. And India's vice-captain Rahul Dravid believes he is the best wicket-keeper in the country, at least at the moment.

But the pressure is starting to build on the youngster. Others, like Haryana's Ajay Ratra and Karnataka's Thilak Naidu, are starting to press their claims and Patel may soon find himself having to fight for a place in the side.

So the question that must be uppermost in the minds of Patel's fans -- and they are many -- must be: what has he done to improve his cricket? Has he even recognised any chinks in his armour?

Well, we have news for you. He certainly has.

"I know that my batting should be better," says the lad. "I have been working hard on my batting. Before going for the India 'A' tour of England and even after the Dhaka Tri-series, I concentrated on my batting."

The results are now beginning to show. Patel scored his first first-class century in England. "In general," he says, "I can feel the improvement."

But for someone who is not considered too good a batsman, one wonders how he coped with the challenge of opening in the Challenger Trophy.

"It was kind of expected," says the youngster from Ahmedabad. "I had told John Wright that I am ready to bat anywhere for the team. I know opening is a tough job, but I am prepared for it. I have opened in the juniors and a few India 'A' matches."

But competition is not something that Patel has experienced too much, at least at the senior level. Ever since he made his debut on the tour of England, his place in the side has been guaranteed. But now some people at least are starting to question it.

But the teenager is unfazed. "Competition never puts any pressure on me," he says. "I look upon it as a challenge that I will overcome."

The conditioning camp before the Challenger Trophy was a good one for Patel, as was his experience with the team's new trainer, South Africa's Gregory Allen King. "King made us do a lot of activity drills," he says, "as we need to be very agile as wicket-keepers."

Makarand Waingankar, who handles junior cricket for the Karnataka State Cricket Association, had said that Patel needs to become stronger before his batting can improve. But Patel believes physical strength does not necessarily make one a better player. "[Just] hitting sixes and fours is not cricket," he says wisely. "There is a lot more to it. You need to use your brains too."

These days just one thing separates the men from the boys in international cricket: mental stength. The Australians are on top of the cricketing world not only because of the way they play their cricket, but also because the match is won in their minds even before they step on to the ground. "The tougher you are mentally, the better you play," is the motto that Patel swears by.