Sandeep Patil ( ; born 18 August 1956) is an Indian former cricketer, India national age-group cricket manager and former
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
national team coach, who guided the
underdogs to the semi-finals of the
2003 World Cup. He was a hard-hitting
middle order batsman and an occasional
medium pace bowler. Patil was a member of the Indian team that won the
1983 Cricket World Cup
The 1983 Cricket World Cup (officially the Prudential Cup '83) was the third edition of the Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from 9 to 25 June 1983 in England and Wales and was won by India
India, officially the Republic o ...
and the
1984 Asia Cup. He was the coach of Mumbai Champs in the
Indian Cricket League, but returned to the mainstream when he cut ties with the unofficial league in 2009. He later served as the director of the
National Cricket Academy (NCA) and as the chief of the
BCCI Selection Committee.
Early life
Sandeep Patil was born on 18 August 1956 in
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
. His father, Madhusudan Patil, was a former first-class cricketer, national level badminton player and skilled player of tennis and football. He grew up in the
Shivaji Park area in Bombay, studied in
Balmohan Vidyamandir and
Ramnarain Ruia College and was coached by Ankush 'Anna' Vaidya.
Cricket career
In the early part of his career, Patil was as much a medium pacer who bowled off the wrong foot, as he was a batsman. Following three successful years for the
Bombay university in the
Rohinton Baria Trophy, he made the
Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
Ranji team in 1975–76. After being on and off the team for three seasons, he played his first major innings against
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
in the 1979 semifinal. Going in at No.6 after Bombay lost the first four wickets for 72, Patil hit 145 in 276 minutes with 18 fours and a six, none of his partners made more than 25. Patil played for
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
in the Middlesex league in 1979 and 1980, and for Somerset 'B' in the latter year.
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
visited India in 1979–80. Patil appeared in tour matches for West Zone against both teams, scoring 44 and 23 against Australia,
and 68 and 71 against Pakistan.
This earned him the selection in the last two Test matches against Pakistan. A week before making the debut, he made his career-best first class score against
Saurashtra at the
Wankhede Stadium. Coming in to bat in the second morning he was 45* at lunch, reached his hundred in 139 balls scoring 105 in the second session, and ended up with 210 made in 205 balls with seven sixes and nineteen fours. The last of the sixes cleared the stadium (a very rare feat at the Wankhede) and landed in the hockey grounds outside. Patil made 62 in the final Test at
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
, appeared in the Golden Jubilee Test against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
later in the season and was selected for the tour of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
in 1980–81.
In the early matches of the Australian tour, he scored 116 against
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, which included
Rodney Hogg, and 60 and 97 against
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
which had
Jeff Thomson,
Geoff Dymock and
Carl Rackemann. He won the man of the match on his
ODI debut for a 64 against Australia.
In the first innings of the first Test at
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
Patil had reached 65 when just before the tea break on the first day, he was hit on the throat by Hogg. Continuing without a helmet, he was hit over the right ear by a
bouncer by
Len Pascoe in the first over after tea. Patil collapsed in the crease and had to retire hurt. Though still unwell, he batted in the second innings at the insistence of captain
Sunil Gavaskar as India struggled to avoid an
innings defeat.
Two weeks later, with a helmet on, Patil hit a spectacular 174 in the
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
Test. It came after India lost the first four wickets for 130 against the Australian total of 528. At the time, the highest score in an innings by an Indian in Australia, it took him just over five hours and included 22 fours and a six over mid-wicket off
Bruce Yardley. In the next series against New Zealand, Patil opened the bowling for India along with
Kapil Dev in the Auckland Test.
Patil found himself out of the team after four Tests in the home series against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in 1981–82 but was picked for the away series that followed immediately after. Here in the
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
Test he scored his second hundred. India was in some danger of
following on when he added 96 runs with
Kapil Dev a little over an hour. England took the second new ball soon after and Patil hit the last two balls of an over from
Ian Botham for four and three. In the next over he hit
Bob Willis for six fours (4440444, the third ball being a no ball) – "two cover drives, one flat batted back over the bowler's head, two square cuts of ferocious power and a mighty hook" - taking his score from 73 to 104 in nine balls. He was 129 not out when rain brought an early end to the match.
Another hundred followed against
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
in September but he was again out the team by the middle of the season. While the Indian team toured
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
, he scored 121* in 84 balls in the second innings of the Ranji final against
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
. All his runs came in single session on the final day as Bombay was targeting a declaration. Patil scored 216 runs in eight matches in the
Prudential World Cup including 51* in the semifinal against England. He scored 609 runs in the 1983–84 Ranji season, and his fourth and last Test hundred against Pakistan at
Faisalabad
Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...
.
On the last day of the
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
Test against England in December 1984, with his score on 41, Patil was caught at long on attempting a big hit off the bowling of
Phil Edmonds. This was viewed as "throwing away his wicket" when in fact it was in his natural style of attacking batting, it triggered a collapse and India lost the match that could well have been saved. Patil was dropped in the next test at
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
as a disciplinary measure, along with Kapil Dev who also fell to a similar shot off the bowling of
Pat Pocock.
Mohammad Azharuddin who took his place scored hundreds in his first three Test matches and Patil played no more Test cricket, although Kapil Dev would return to squad. In 1986, he was recalled for a few more one day matches. He also toured England without appearing in Tests.
Patil announced his retirement from
first class cricket after appearing for Bombay against the Australians in September 1986. But he came back to captain the
Madhya Pradesh cricket team from 1988 to 1993 with considerable success. One of the more notable innings was a 185 against Bombay in 1990. He went on to coach the India national team and the 'A' team. As the coach of
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
, he guided them to an unlikely semifinal place in the
2003 World Cup.
He served as chairman of selectors of the
Board of Control for Cricket in India
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...
from 27 September 2012 to September 2016.
Bollywood debut
Soon after the
1983 Cricket World Cup
The 1983 Cricket World Cup (officially the Prudential Cup '83) was the third edition of the Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from 9 to 25 June 1983 in England and Wales and was won by India
India, officially the Republic o ...
victory, Patil was offered by
Vijay Singh to play the lead opposite two
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
actresses
Poonam Dhillon and
Debashree Roy in ''
Kabhie Ajnabi The,'' while
Syed Kirmani was offered to essay the role of the antagonist. Reportedly Patil got so occupied with his
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
debut that he refused to participate in the
West Indies tour in 1983. Though the cricketer later reasoned that he had opted out of that tour because he was nursing an injury at that time. The filming began in 1983 and the film was released in 1985. The film was highly publicised on the fighting sequence between Patil and
Kirmani as well as his chemistry with
Debashree Roy, especially in the song sequence ''
Geet Mere Hothon Ko Dey Gaya Koi''.
It opened with 80% seat occupancy but ultimately became a major debacle at the box office.
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
wrote on his performance, "he even aces the love-struck Hindi film hero's signature move of producing notes from a guitar without moving either hand". ''
Sportstar
''Sportstar'' is an Indian monthly sports magazine published in India by the publishers of ''The Hindu''. Its headquarters is in Chennai.
History and profile
''Sportstar'' was established in 1978. The magazine covers international sports, i ...
'' commented on his performance that he acted "dashed awkward" in the film.
''
The Tribune'' wrote, "In contrast to their heroics in the 1983 World Cup, Patil and Kirmani were clean bowled on the big screen".
Editing career
Patil edited Marathi sports magazine ''Ekach Shatkar'' which was, once a top selling sports magazine in
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
. It outsold ''Sportstar'' and was often considered as the last nail in the coffin of ''Sportsweek''. The largest selling newspaper ''Mahanagar'' was also started in his garage.
Personal life
In 1983, Patil was married when he met
Debashree Roy on the set of ''
Kabhie Ajnabi The'' (1985) and reportedly had an affair with her. Indian media interpreted their affair as the sole reason for the failure of his first marriage. Reportedly, soon after the release of the film they discontinued their relationship and never publicly discussed anything on their separation.
He later married Deepa. He has two sons,
Chirag Patil and Prateek Patil. He wrote his autobiography ''Sandy Storm'' in 1984.
In popular culture
Chirag Patil, Patil's elder son portrayed him in
Kabir Khan's ''
83'' (2021) which also stars
Ranveer Singh as
Kapil Dev.
References
Sources
*Sujit Mukherjee, ''Matched winners'', Orient Longman (1996)
*Sandeep Patil, ''Sandy Storm'', Rupa & Co (1984)
*Benson & Hedges Cricket Year, 1981–82
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patil, Sandeep
1956 births
Living people
Cricketers from Mumbai
India One Day International cricketers
India Test cricketers
Indian cricketers
West Zone cricketers
Madhya Pradesh cricketers
Central Zone cricketers
Mumbai cricketers
Coaches of the Indian national cricket team
Cricket managers
Indian cricket administrators
Cricketers at the 1983 Cricket World Cup
Indian cricket coaches
India national cricket team selectors
Coaches of the Oman national cricket team
Coaches of the Kenya national cricket team