Former dashing batsman Sandeep Patil named chief cricket selector

28 September, 2012

Sandeep Patil, the dark horse for the position of the chief selector's job has won the race ahead of many close contenders such as Roger Binny and Mohinder Amarnath. His no-nonsense attitude should work well for the Indian team.

THE MUCH-awaited Indian cricket team selection committee decision has been announced. Initially, it was Mohinder Amarnath, who was expected to lead the team of the national cricket selection committee as the chief selector. Roger Binny's name also did the rounds, but it was the former Indian batsman, Sandeep Patil who was finally selected as the chairman of selectors at the Annual General meeting, which took place in Mumbai.

Sandeep Patil's job at the top is not going to be easy one, as it was under the former chairman, Kris Srikkanth that the Indian team won the 2011 world cup. Sandeep, like Kris, has played at the highest level for India, which will help his cause. Sandeep Patil has been a coach at various levels of the Indian team as well as the Kenyan and the Oman national cricket teams.

The new team that has taken charge of the selection committee knows the challenges that lie ahead. The current team is undergoing a transition - so Sandeep and his team might have to take some important decisions like dealing with Sachin Tendulkar's retirement. Apart from this, the team also regularly needs new faces to bolster the squad and develop a strong bench strength in the process for all formats.

Sandeep Patil was regarded as a no-non sense kind of a player during his cricket days. He was an aggressive batsmen and his behavior towards the game was also the same - with some even calling him arrogant. He needs to maintain the same kind of aggression and choose players on merit, not like some of the past selectors who chose players on the basis of their past records and reputation. He does not mind facing the wrath of the BCCI nor the players, but he is someone who would do what is best for the nation.

The BCCI needs to treat the chief selector with care as he is someone who will quit his decision-making meddled with. He has done so in the past as he quit the job of the Indian A team coach, after he felt that he was not treated well by the BCCI. If he feels that a player like Sehwag needs to be dropped, he will do so. We can expect the new selector to walk the talk.

Roger Binny (South Zone), Rajinder Singh Hans (Central Zone), Saba Karim (East Zome), Vikram Rathore (North Zone) and Sandeep Patil (West Zone) make up the new full selection committee of the Indian team with Patil at the helm of the selection committee. Rajinder Singh Hans is a known figure in the domestic circuit and the rest of the members have represented the Indian senior team.