The powerful Sandeep Patil and his stormy ways

 By K.R. Nayar

No batsman has ever given me the jitters like Sandeep Patil did.  I missed being hit by one of his sixers inside the press box at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium while reporting one of his Ranji Trophy matches. His next six pierced through the roof of the press box. Recalling Patil's powerful ways on the day (June 22) when he placed India in the 1983 World Cup final through an unbeaten 51 against England.

Sandeep Patil's autobiography is among my favourite collection   

If there has been any batsman who has made me a little nervous while being seated in the press box, it’s India’s Sandeep Patil. I’ve been fortunate to report many of his aggressive knocks during his career. Ever since the advent of Twenty20 and now T10, almost every batsman hits hard. But I am yet to see any player, including Chris Gayle, with so much power behind his shot.  

Once while reporting a Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Saurashtra in the late 80s, Patil hit a straight six that almost missed me in the press box. I was lucky that the six missed me and my type writer and a few other journalists by a whisker. Those days, journalists used type writers, since a laptop was not even heard of. I had barely let out a sigh of relief when came another of his sixes, and it pierced the asbestos roof of the press box from the inside, made a hole, and disappeared. Patil resembled a giant smashing anything thrown at him! 

So why am I writing about Patil today? It was on June 22, 1983 during the World Cup that he cracked an unbeaten 51 against England at Manchester to steer India to a six-wicket win. That semifinal final knock placed India in the final of a World Cup for the first time ever. 

 To me, Patil was someone with super human strength.  His autobiography Sandy Storm is one among my favourite collections. Though the pages of that book have turned yellow, I enjoy reading it often for its sheer thrill.  Patil gives the feeling of a happy-go lucky guy, but he was able to understand the game very well and analyse it too. As a coach, he guided minnows Kenya into the semifinal in the 2003 World Cup. He excelled in the role of India’s chief selector too. 

Patil never reacted to criticisms but  answered it through his bat. Once when I got the opportunity to ask him about his knocks in the 1983 World Cup, that was when I realized that he had played that innings with vengeance to prove the English newspapers and commentators wrong. “Before the semifinal, commentators as well as the English newspapers had predicted an England-West Indies final.  Even during the semi-final match, the commentators kept saying that England would reach the final.  I believe that if you enjoy what you do, you can achieve anything,” he said.

Sandeep Patil being carried away after pacer Len Pascoe hit him with a bouncer during the Sydney Test match

Patil has proved that when he starts to enjoy, then it is a nightmare for the bowlers.  Although he retired before the advent of Twenty20 matches, in the 1982 series against England, he thrashed England pacer Bob Willis for six boundaries in an over.  In the 1981 series in Australia, he showed what a fighter he was by cracking a stupendous 174 at Adelaide. In the Sydney Test match, prior to his epic knock, he was hit on the throat by a Rodney Hogg bouncer, and another pacer Len Pascoe too hit him with another bouncer on the ear. Patil collapsed on the crease and was forced to retire hurt.

Sandeep Patil as an actor in a Bollywood movie

Since he was tall and handsome, Patil took advantage of his looks to act in Bollywood movies. He also played the role of a journalist by editing a Marathi Sports Magazine Ekach Shatkar, which is reported to have surpassed reputed English sports magazines like Sportstar and Sportsweek in circulation.  

Three years ago, Patil came to Dubai as the brand ambassador for India’s indoor team that played in the World Indoor Cricket Federation World Cup. I asked to him about his hard hitting skills and he modestly said: “I believe Kapil Dev and Krishnamachari Srikkanth were better hitters than me. It’s not just hard hitting that matters, but consistency.” Despite this remark, the fear he created in me still lives on.