Banning of cell phones in dressing room may have upset some players, says ex-coach Sandeep Patil in new book

India’s then cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin (left) with coach Sandeep Patil before departing for the 1996 tour of England. Pic/mid-day archives

Within six months of being appointed coach of the Indian team, I lost my job. My 1983 World Cup colleague S Madan Lal took over from me. I kept wondering what I had done wrong. I discharged my duties honestly, and to the best of my abilities. One day, the penny dropped. I realised that I was coaching the Indian team, and not Madhya Pradesh, whose players were trying to establish themselves.

Got a little carried away

Here, there were big stars. I was a hard coach, which was a mistake. Clearly, I faltered while handling established players, because my stand was wrong. I got a little carried away by my success with MP, India A, and India U-19. The Indian national team is a totally different proposition. You have to handle each senior player differently.

The side I had to coach comprised seniors like skipper (Mohammed) Azharuddin, (Sachin) Tendulkar, (Anil) Kumble and (Javagal) Srinath, along with several youngsters.

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C Nagaraj, the manager on the 1996 tour of England, also accused me of not handling the team properly. I accept that charge, as it is a fair one to make. I deserved to be censured for not discharging my duties as a coach effectively. The manager has the right to make these charges, but accusing me of something that I hadn't done (serving refreshments to the players' wives) was nonsense. That came back to haunt me in a sense when Farokh Engineer accused the selectors of serving tea to Virat Kohli's wife Anushka (Sharma) during the 2019 World Cup in England.

Back in 1996

Back to our 1996 tour. We then travelled to the Netherlands and won both the one-dayers. The Sahara Cup at Toronto was our next assignment, and we lost 2-3. In some ways, it was a joke. Some players would discuss strange things, and even drink my alcohol.

l banned the use of mobile phones in England because there were things that could not be explained. What we used to discuss in the team meetings was totally different from what actually happened during play. The batting order would be reshuffled for no reason, without discussion. Azhar would go down the order, and a lower-order batsman would be promoted. I told him that I was the coach, and he ought to at least discuss his thoughts with me, so that I could make some suggestions. I tried to assure him that I was not there to oppose his decisions.

I think the banning of mobile phones in the dressing rooms did not go down well with the team.

Mr. JY Lele (BCCI Joint Secretary) informed me about my sacking, and said that I had failed to manage the team properly. They took the decision going by Nagaraj's England tour report; probably giving that more importance than the disappointing one-day performances in Sri Lanka and Canada. I hear six to seven players signed a letter to the BCCI, calling for my removal. Lele told me this on the phone, and I know who signed that letter.

Excepted with permission from Beyond Boundaries by Sandeep Patil with Clayton Murzello, edited by Sonali Velinker Kamat, published by Global Cricket School.