Patil - Time To Take Bold Measures (17 Jul 1996)

17 July 1996

Time to take bold measures, says Patil

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, July 16.

There are a few more strands of grey in his goatee now. Sandeep Patil did not count on a ``perfect tour'' on his first major assignment as cricket manager of the Indian team to England. Neither did he anticipate ``off-field'' factors to trouble him.

He admitted on Monday night at the Sahar International airport, ``There were tense moments. It was a hard tour. There were so many misfortunes. To start with there was bitter cold, then there was the problem with the ``Sidhu walk-out.'' And then there were injuries to players right through the tour. I have realised it's a different cup of tea, handling a team and travelling as a player of the team.''

The `Sidhu walkout' gave Patil one hell of a time, but the `saving grace' he says has been the performances by batsmen Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid and the new ball bowler Venkatesh Prasad. ``There were six new faces on the tour, and I think we have located players for the future. Considering the fact that we had half a dozen new players, I am not disappointed by the one day and Test series defeats.''

Patil said ``this tour has opened my eyes. Lessons have been learnt. It's time Indian cricket does some introspection and takes corrective and bold measures.'' The presence of the BCCI executive functionaries, President Inder Singh Bindra and Jagmohan Dalmiya in England gave Patil the opportunity to tell them how the cricket manager and captain can be made more accountable.

Captain's `right to vote'

Patil said he respected the selection committee's decisions, but was going to tell the Board that the cricket manager and captain be given the ``right to vote'' in the selection committee. ``Myself and Azharuddin should have a definite say in the choice of players. I am not exactly advocating a division in the selection committee meetings. It is just that the cricket manager and captain must have a say on a few players. After all we had to call for Salil Ankola.. is it not.''

Patil also reiterated his stance that the Indian team must be equipped with a full fledged trainer to look after the physical conditioning of the players. ``I have all respect for Ali Irani. He has been doing a wonderful job for the last seven years. But he has been doing so many other things for the team that he cannot give full time to the physical conditioning. The players may have accepted him, but it's time we go for a trainer.''

``I would even go to the extent of converting the short camps into physical conditioning camps than going through the batting and bowling at nets. Look at Australia and South Africa. We have to borrow this concept from them. We had lot of injuries on the tour and this has only strengthened my belief. The Board has given whatever I have asked for. I am sure Mr. Bindra and Mr. Dalmiya would be receptive to this suggestion, too.''

Openers' slot vacant

Patil's term is till September end, but he has started putting his mind on the tour to South Africa and the West Indies. ``And my major concern is finding the right batsmen to fill in the opening slots. This is one aspect I am going to highlight in my report. We don't have too many opening batsman lined up to grab the crucial positions. Sachin will open the innings in one dayers. And Nayan Mongia is not keen on opening the innings. One cannot expect him to keep wickets and go as an opener. We have to find a solution.''

``Our next tour is to Sri Lanka and then to Canada. I don't know what will happen to Sidhu. It's for the Board to decide. I don't know whether the board will give Vinod Kambli another chance or not. Sanjay Manjrekar has shown interest to open the innings. But he has to write to the Mumbai Cricket Association and the Board. We have a solid middle order now in Sourav, Sachin, Azhar, and Dravid. I don't want Sanjay to open the innings in Sri Lanka and Canada and then drop him down the order for the subsequent tours. Rathore was the highest scorer against Counties, but he was exposed in Tests. He has to go back to the nets and work on his technique.''

Prasad, Srinath impressive

Patil did not want to comment on the selection committee choosing four spinners for the tour. ``My job is to make use of the 16 selected. Srinath was brilliant and Venkatesh Prasad, equally good. There was no one to assist them... it was sad. There was too much pressure on these two. For the first time India had two excellent and effective new ball bowlers. We missed a third seamer. Paras Mhambrey can come back only if he improves on his speed and line. Paras should not see it as a career setback... he can improve... one cannot expect all six new comers to click.

Anil Kumble had a rough tour. He played under two captains, Azhar and Sachin, who had different ideas. So Kumble was trying to do different things. I am sure Kumble will come back forcefully.''

On asked whether he would recommend the retention of Azhar as captain, Patil said, ``I will put down everything in my report. The tour manager C. Nagaraj, too, will give his report. Azhar had a poor run in the Tests. Azhar has been appointed captain till September. So it's for the Board and the selection committee to decide. There may be a series of meetings with Mr. Dalmiya before the team is selected for Sri Lanka. There are quite a few things to be sorted out.''

The right to vote for the cricket manager and the captain and appointment of a trainer are the two aspects Patil would be canvassing for in the next week.

Source :: The Hindu