Patil content that his brave calls worked

Former Indian cricketer Sandeep Patil was pleased to see the 'bold decisions' that he took as the then chairman of the BCCI's selection committee, bearing fruit, especially at a time when the Indian team was going through a period of transition.

The Indian team was at the cusp of change with a glut of stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan nearing the fag end of their careers.

Patil, one of the World Cup heroes of 1983, was installed as the chairman of the selection committee in 2012, and the Mumbaikar took some tough calls by blooding youngsters.

The former Director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) picked 65 players across formats during his four-year tenure and many of them like Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and KL Rahul have gone on to become an integral part, and the current team has his stamp on it.

And deep down, Patil felt content that his brave calls have worked.

"I shouldn't be saying but this team which you are seeing, the players you are seeing, we had a very difficult task of replacing Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, the likes of them and get these youngsters. Somewhere, back in my mind, I feel very happy that the bold decisions, which we took is giving tremendous results," Patil said to a question from the Khaleej Times.

The 61-year-old, who also coached the Indian team, also said that all-rounder Yuvraj Singh could still be in the scheme of things for the 2019 World Cup, but it all depends on his fitness and form.

"It is fitness and form. It is very simple. I'm not the selector, I'm just the well-wisher of Indian cricket and Indian players. As I said, two years is too long a period and the kind of injuries you have seen, there is too much of workload on each player," said Patil.

"Yuvraj Singh was a like a God's gift. I'm an ardent fan and I will remain an ardent fan of Yuvraj Singh. But he has to put runs on the board and he has to prove his fitness. And it is being looked after by the professionals who are working with the Indian team. So, it will be wrong on my part to say what is going to happen with Dhoni, Yuvraj and others," he added.

Patil also said that Indian captain Virat Kohli is in a different league altogether but refused to make comparisons.

"He's in a different league. We are so proud to have players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh. I'm talking about this era. These are champions. I consider myself damn lucky to have got a chance to be with them as India 'A' coach, India coach, as Director of the NCA. I'm really proud of them. It is very difficult to say what is the difference between Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin, what is the difference between Sachin and Virat Kohli or Dhoni and Virat. They all are special," Patil said.

The Indian team have some tough assignments coming up with them set to tour South Africa and England next summer. And Patil hoped they will go on and do well abroad. "Every series, every match is a test. Every tour bring a different challenge. I'm not a magician to say that they will win but India are at the top and are playing great cricket. It will be an acid test for India," he said.

"For that matter, if you look at the history of each team, whenever each team has travelled away from their home country, they have struggled. So, let's not only talk about India. Australia, when they come here, they struggle, when we go to Australia, we struggle. So, it is the same for each and every team. It will be great to see India doing well abroad," added Patil.

Source: Khaleej Times