Very happy with the way things have moved: Sandeep Patil

Sandeep Patil is nearing the conclusion of his tenure as chief selector. In four years, Patil has seen different Indian teams battle it out in different formats, something he most certainly would take great pride in. His tenure has been consummated by the performance of India ‘A’ in the series down under. Patil, who applied for the coaching role as well, stated that he would like to finish his tenure as a selector on a good note.

He also went on to add that he could relate to what Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble were going through at the moment. “I can imagine how happy Rahul Dravid (the current India ‘A’ coach) must be. Anil Kumble is doing a fabulous job with the senior team, but the ‘A’ team is your bench strength. It’s critical,” Patil was quoted by mid-day. “I will be a very happy man to finish on this good note. I am personally very happy with the way things have moved,”

He also added that there is always pressure irrespective of the status of the cricketing nation. “Whether it is Bangladesh, Australia, Sri Lanka… there is always pressure. It is international cricket, after all. You know that we struggled in Bangladesh too. We are happy the boys are using this platform well,” said Patil.

“We are not worried about replacements. Anil has worked out a great plan where players will be going to the National Cricket Academy regularly. Looking at 13 Tests at home – especially the medium pacers – we have a replacement ready for each and every player. Not one, but three replacements.”

“We had a long chat with Anil, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni and we have given them options as to who can replace whom in the home series be it T20, ODIs and Test cricket.”

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Finally, he also said that he is indeed expecting big things from Mandeep Singh. “Yes, I expected good things from Mandeep Singh (who scored 95 in the final). He is a brilliant talent, but again, he is not the only one. Shreyas Iyer too is very gifted. We have picked these young players looking at the road ahead.

“Not only those in Australia, but the boys playing the ongoing Duleep Trophy like Kuldeep Yadav (left-arm spinner) are doing well too. Off-spinner Jayant Yadav is another one who is coming up with encouraging performances. I am delighted for the whole lot.”

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