 "Former BCCI selector Sandip Patil has revealed that Gautam Gambhir has failed to move on from his exclusion from Team India. Images: PTI")
Former Team India chief selector Sandip Patil dropped some big bombshells as he revealed how current head coach Gautam Gambhir has failed to move on from his selection panel dropping him from the team, and how MS Dhoni was never behind the exclusion of Yuvraj Singh.
Gambhir’s last ODI for India was in 2013 against England at home. While he helped India win the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and the ODI World Cup in 2011, the left-handed opener was never given any opportunity in the while-ball cricket after 2013 under Patil’s watch. Gambhir played his last international match in November 2016.
‘Gambhir is still upset’: Patil
In a recent interview, Sandip Patil has revealed that Gambhir has failed to move on from the 2013 drop, leading to a frosty relationship between the duo, which is not the case with greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, who also faced selection pressure under the same selectors.
“When you are sitting in the chair of the selection committee, you are responsible for making some big calls. You’re not looking at your friendships/rapport with players," Patil said on the Vickey Lalwani show.
“I’ve shared a good rapport with Sachin since he was 14. He has played under me, with me. Whenever I text him, he replies immediately. I met Yuvraj recently on the flight; very cordial. Even Virender Sehwag. They all talk to me nicely. Except Gambhir. He was very dear to me. Even today, I respect him a lot, but he is upset with me, and rightly so.
“Even I was upset with the selection committee when I got dropped. I scored a 100 in Pakistan, the highest at Kotla against England in both innings and got dropped. Never played Test cricket again,” Patil added.
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View AllThe former BCCI chief selector Patil also revealed that Gambhir has consistently ignored him, even when they have appeared together on TV shows.
“Gambhir is still upset. He has never spoken to me. We have come together on so many different shows. We’ve sat in the same room, but Gautam has never even looked at me. It’s fine. Every time I reached out to him or said a ‘Hi’, he has never responded. Not even a glance. But that’s fair enough,” added Gambhir.
‘Dhoni did not drop Yuvraj’
Patil also provided clarification on one of the most controversial decisions in Indian cricket history. Former skipper MS Dhoni is often criticised for sidelining Yuvraj Singh after the all-rounder battled cancer and made a comeback.
The former Indian batter Patil said that Dhoni never asked for Yuvraj to be dropped from the Indian team, and all the decisions were taken by the selectors.
“Not once — not during selection meetings, not on tour, not during matches — did Mahendra Singh Dhoni say drop Yuvraj Singh. I am going on the record,” Patil said.
“He had total confidence in the selection committee. He didn’t say anything,” Patil added.