Sandeep Patil is a former international cricketer who played for India during the 1980s. He was more of an elegant stroke player who could also bowl a bit. He came into the limelight through his performance in the test match against Australia in 1981 when he scored 174 runs after getting hit by their fast bowler Len Pascoe on his right ear in the previous inning before this test match.
Wiki/Biography
Sandeep Patil was born on Wednesday, 8 August 1956 (age 65 years; as of 2021) in Bombay (now Mumbai). His zodiac sign is Leo. He completed his schooling at Balmohan Vidyamandir, Mumbai, and later took admission at Ramnarain Ruia College, Mumbai. He started playing cricket at a young age where his father was a former first-class cricketer. Making his debut in 1980 for India, he caught the center stage of cricket fans with his hard-hitting stroke-play at the middle order and lifting his side up from tough situations. He also performed brilliantly in domestic cricket which earned him a place in the 1983 World Cup. He could not get past a fifty in any of its matches but in the semis, he scored 51 runs and took his side to a historic victory over England. In the finals, he scored 26 runs and helped India to bag its maiden Cricket World Cup title. After this, his form dipped a bit, and was dropped from the squad. Following some remarkable performances in the Ranji Trophy, he was back in the side yet again in late 1984 after scoring 609 runs in that tournament. Then again he was dropped after playing one test match where he scored 41 runs against England. In 1986, he retired from international cricket but continued to play in the domestic circuit. Post-retiring, he started working as a coach of the India and Kenyan team. Under his coaching, Kenya reached the semi-finals of the 2003 ICC World Cup. He also played many other roles in cricket such as cricket expert and analyst.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Weight (approx.): 72 kg
Hair Colour: Natural Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is Madhusudan Patil and he was a former first-class cricketer. His mother’s name is Sumitra Patil.
Wife & Children
Sandeep Patil is married to Deepa Patil.
Sandeep Patil with his wife
The couple is blessed with sons named Chirag Patil and Prateek Patil.
Sandeep Patil with his sons
Chirag Patil is a Bollywood actor and is married to former Indian cricketer Salil Ankola’s daughter Sana Ankola.
Chirag Patil with his wife Sana Ankola
Relationships/Affairs
On the set of the Bollywood movie ‘Kabhi Ajnabi The’, Sandeep Patil fell in love with the lead actress of the movie Debashree Roy despite being married.
Sandeep Patil with his rumored girlfriend Debashree Roy
Address
Sandeep Patil resides in Jogeshwari Residence, Mumbai.
Signature/Autograph
Sandeep Patil signature
Career
International Debut
Tests
Sandeep Patil made his test debut on 15 January 1980 against Pakistan at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
ODIs
Sandeep Patil made his ODI debut on 6 December 1980 against Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
Stats
Batting Stats
Tests
Matches- 29
Innings- 47
Not Outs- 4
Runs- 1588
Highest score- 174
Average- 36.93
100s- 4
50s- 7
0s- 4
One-Day Internationals
Matches- 45
Innings- 42
Not Outs- 1
Runs- 1005
Highest Score- 84
Average- 24.51
Balls Faced- 1223
Strike Rate- 82.17
100s- 0
50s- 9
0s- 4
Bowling Stats
Tests
Matches- 29
Innings- 15
Overs- 107.3
Maidens- 29
Runs- 240
Wickets- 9
BBI- 2/28
BBM- 3/52
Average- 26.66
Economy- 2.23
Strike Rate- 71.6
5w- 0
10w- 0
One-Day Internationals
Matches- 45
Innings- 20
Overs- 144.0
Maidens- 9
Runs- 589
Wickets- 15
BBI- 2/28
Average- 39.26
Economy- 4.09
Strike Rate- 57.6
4w- 0
5w- 0
Domestic Team(s)
In the initial days of his career, he was more of a wrong foot medium-fast bowler than a batter. He started his cricket career with a Rohinton Baria Trophy for Bombay University. In 1975-76, he played his first Ranji match for the Bombay team.
Sandeep Patil in his young days
While he started his career, he was an irregular member of the side. It was in 1979 when after scoring 145 runs in the Ranji Trophy semi-finals, he became a permanent member of the side. In this match, Bombay lost their first four wickets for 72 runs when Sandeep came out to bat at number six. His inning helped the Bombay team to progress to the finals. After representing Edmonton in the Middlesex league in 1979 and 1980, he represented Somerset ‘B’ in the succeeding year. In 1979-80, India played a home series against Australia and Pakistan where Sandeep was selected to play the tour matches against both teams. He represented the West Zone team and scored 44 & 23 against Australia. This followed up with 68 & 71 against Pakistan. These innings awarded him with the place in the Indian national side for the last two test matches against Pakistan. Two weeks before this match, he scores his highest first-class runs against Saurashtra at the Wankhede Stadium. While he came out to bat on the second day, he was unbeaten on 45 runs before lunch. He went on to score 210 runs off 205 balls including seven sixes and nineteen fours. The last six which he hit cleared the stadium and landed on the hockey stadium just at the back of this stadium.
Sandeep Patil in action in tests
He then appeared in the Golden Jubilee Test against England later following that season. For the tour of Australia in 1980-81, he was selected for the team. Before the beginning of the test match, he scored 116 runs against South Australia. This South Australian team has the players like Rodney Hogg. This followed up with the score of 60 and 97 against Queensland who on the other hand are star-studded with players like Jeff Thompson. He made his ODI debut in December 1980 against Australia where he scored 64 runs and got awarded with the ‘Player of the Match’ award. In 1981, a test series was held against Australia where Patil got injured after getting hit on the throat by Rodney Hogg when he was on 65. He continued to bat after that and after being hit on the right ear by their fast bowler Len Pascoe, he got retired hurt.
Sandeep lying on the ground after Len Pascoe bouncer on 2 January 1981 in a match against Australia at Sydney
But in the second inning, he continued his batting on the insistence of the team’s captain Sunil Gavaskar which India lost by an inning margin. After two weeks, he scored 174 runs which is his highest test score in the second test match against Australia at Adelaide in January 1981. This score came at a time when on the score of 130 runs, India lost their first four wickets. It was the highest score in Australia by an Indian at that time which included twenty-two fours and one six of Bruce Yardley over mid-wicket. Interestingly, he opened the bowling against New Zealand in Australia in March 1981 alongside Kapil Dev. Later, he was dropped from the side after the home series against England in 1981-82 but was picked soon after. In the concluding series, he scored his second test hundred. India was on a verge of an inning defeat when Sandeep added 96 runs along with Kapil Dev. In the next session, he hit Ian Botham for four and three in the last two balls of his first over after taking a new ball. In the next over, he hit Bob Willis for six sours and progressed to a score of 104 runs from 73 in a matter of nine balls. He remained not out on 129 runs till the end of the play before rain interrupted the match. In his next hundred came against Sri Lanka in September 1982 at Chennai. However, he was dropped from the team in the middle of the season. When India toured West Indies, he scored unbeaten 121 runs against Karnataka in a Ranji final which came in a single session when Bombay was targetting a declaration on the final day. In June 1983, Cricket World Cup began where Patil scored 216 runs in 8 matches. During the semi-finals against England at Manchester, he scored 51 runs off 32 balls while chasing a score of 214 runs in 60-overs and helped India to reach finals where they would be facing West Indies.
Sandeep Patil hitting an aerial shot during the semis of the 1983 World Cup
In the finals, he scored gritty 26 runs and helped India to clinch their maiden Cricket World Cup title. He emerged as the fifth leading wicket-taker in the tournament for India.
Sandeep Patil after India victory in the 1983 finals
In the 1983-84 season of the Ranji Trophy, he scored 609 runs. The last century of his career came against Pakistan at Faisalabad in October 1984. In December 1984, he scored gritty 41 runs against England at Delhi but was later dropped from the next test at Eden Gardens (Kolkata) owing to a disciplinary measure along with Kapil Dev. In the next series, he was replaced by Mohammad Azharuddin who scored three centuries in three tests. In 1986, he was recalled for a few more one-day matches. Patil announced his retirement from international cricket in September 1986 after playing against Australia at Bombay. Then he came back to captain the Madhya Pradesh side and scored 185 against Bombay in 1990. After retiring from cricket, he served cricket as the coach of the Indian national team and India ‘A’ team.
Sandeep Patil as a coach of the Indian cricket team
He also coached the associate cricket nation Kenya who went on to reach the semi-finals of the 2003 ICC World Cup to everyone’s surprise.
Sandeep Patil as the coach of Kenya
On 27 September 2012, he became the chairman of the BCCI and remained in this position till September 2016.
Sandeep Patil as the Chief Selector of Indian team
Favorites
- Cricketers: Yuvraj Singh, Vivian Richards, Ian Botham
- Food: Poha and Upma
- Actor: Aamir Khan
Facts/Trivia
- Apart from his cricket career, he was offered to play a lead role in a Bollywood movie ‘Kabhi Ajnabi The’ opposite Poonam Dhillon and Debashree Roy soon after the 1983 World Cup victory.
’83’ movie first look
- He also edited a Marathi sports magazine ‘Ekach Shatkar’ which, became a top-selling sports magazine in Maharashtra.
- On 24 December 2021, a movie named ’83’ has been released describing the story of how India won the 1983 World Cup. Interestingly, in the movie Sandeep Patil’s son Chirag Patil is played his father’s role.
‘Kabhi Ajnabi The’ poster