'New challenge for an old man' - Sandeep Patil on his mentor role with Mumbai
Sandeep Patil has worn many cricketing hats - player, captain, selector, coach, NCA director and even administrator - but never before in his 50-year association with the game has he been a mentor. So, when the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) offered him the role of mentor for Mumbai teams, Patil was surprised, excited and delighted, all equally.
"It's been 50 years since I played my first Ranji Trophy game for Mumbai. And 50 years later, I never, ever thought that I would get this opportunity. I'm excited. I'm delighted," Patil (69), told Cricbuzz about the new role. He made his Mumbai debut in 1976.
Patil's post-playing career has been widely varied. He served as India coach before going on to coach Kenya, Oman and Madhya Pradesh. He later became the director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and then chairman of selectors, before moving to Kolkata to help Srachi Sports develop cricketing facilities in the city. The new role makes him nervous too.
"I'm nervous. Mumbai has a record 42 Ranji Trophy championships. There are so many things involved. The coaches are there, the selectors are there, the committee members are there, then the MCA is there. It's a new beginning, a new challenge for an old man," Patil says, thanking MCA president Ajinkya Naik and the Apex Council members for showing faith in him.
"We are going to have a meeting tomorrow (June 25) with the MCA, where they will define my role. It has to be teamwork. There are so many factors involved. I have to understand the psyche of the players, where they are lacking, where they have fallen short, what their performances have been. It's not a one-day job. It's a process. I'll have to go through that process and then give my inputs."
Mumbai, traditionally a powerhouse of domestic cricket, went trophyless last season. The last time they lifted the Ranji Trophy was in the 2023-24 season. "I'll be very happy if my experience comes in handy for the players. And I'm not talking only about the senior players alone. My thinking is that my association shouldn't be restricted only to the Ranji players. If I can be helpful to younger kids as well, I'll be very happy to guide them."
He reflects on the downside of the role too. "I'm absolutely delighted and very happy to be back with my original team - the team where I started. In a way, I will be finishing my career where it all began. But the problem is that, like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, when they took the field, people expected nothing less than a hundred from them. If they got out for 80, it was considered a failure. The same applies to the Mumbai team as well. Because of its reputation, expectations are always extraordinarily high."
Patil is particularly pleased that he will be uniting with Dilip Vengsarkar, his former Mumbai and India teammate. Vengsarkar is an advisor to the MCA. "I'm so happy that Dilip is also there as an advisor. We started our journey together in school cricket. Then we played together at the university level. We played together for Bombay. We played together for India. There is a long association and a great understanding between us. Having someone like Dilip around is a huge positive."
