Twitter
Advertisement

I wish I had 5 per cent of Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni's talent: Sandeep Patil

The former Indian selector called Yuvraj Singh 'a god's gift.'

Latest News
article-main
Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Sandeep Patil played an important part in the careers of many Indian cricketers as a selector from 2012 and 2016. He also oversaw a period of transition in Indian cricket with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman bidding adieu to international cricket.

Indian cricket team is producing some of its best results on the field in the leadership currently. There has been an emergence of many new talents. It has also brought focus on the future of stalwarts like MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh.

However, Patil still believes in the talent of these cricketing leagends. He said, "It will be looked after by the professionals, who are working with the Indian team, so it will be wrong on my part to say what is going to happen with Dhoni, Yuvraj. But they are special cricketers, I wish I had even five percent of what they (kind of talent) have."

Talking more on Yuvraj who is currently not a part of the Indian team, Patil said, "Its fitness and form. I am not the selector now. Two years is too long a period and the kind of injuries you have seen, there is too much workload on each player."

He also added, "Yuvraj was like a god's gift, I have been his ardent fan and I will remain an ardent fan of Yuvraj. But he has to put runs on the board and he has to prove his fitness."

A slew of significant milestones that he reached in the recent 5-0 ODI whitewash of Sri Lanka amply demonstrated Mahendra Singh Dhoni's continuing influence in the limited overs game, and Patil termed him a "special player".

"We had a very difficult task of replacing players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and get these youngsters. Somewhere, in my mind, I am very happy that the bold decisions which we took are giving tremendous results."

He praised Hardik Pandya's development as a player but when asked about the comparisons drawn with Kapil Dev, Patil said it will take him 200 births to take the legendary all- rounder's place. He also lauded the current selection committee's move to rest the top spin duo of Ravichandran Aswhin and Ravindra Jadeja, saying his panel had also tried doing similar things.

He acknowledged the Indian cricket team s dominating world cricket at the moment, but it remains to be seen how it performs in South Africa and England next summer.

(With PTI Inputs)

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement