Dubai: Sandeep Patil, India’s former dashing batsman who has donned many hats since his retirement, will soon have one more as the ambassador of the India’s indoor cricket team.
Patil was coach of the both Indian senior and ‘A’ teams, Kenya and Oman teams. He also served as chairman of the Indian selection committee, head of National Cricket Academy (NCA), edited magazines, wrote top seller book Sandy Storm (his autobiography) and even acted in movies.
Patil, will be the face of the India team in the lead-up to the 10th edition of the World Indoor Cricket Federation (WICF) World Cup to be held in Dubai from September 16 to 23, will be here. The weeklong World Cup will be held at Insportz Club in partnership with Cricket Australia (CA) and Emirates Cricket Board (ECB).
Speaking about his new role from Mumbai, Patil, who has played 29 Tests and 45 One-Day Internationals for India from 1980-1986, said: “I am delighted to be the ambassador of the Indian indoor team. It is always a pleasure to be associated with this great of game. I sincerely wish my Indian indoor team all the best in the tournament.”
Abdul Latif Khan, chairman, of the UAE-based Petromann Events that will manage the Indian team during the World Cup and had picked Patil for the role, said: “It is an absolute honour to have Patil as the brand ambassador of the Indian team. We will soon be unveiling a campaign with Patil to raise the profile of the Indian team. We are sure the presence of Patil the Indian team will achieve new heights at the World Cup.”
Patil’s presence will be a big boost for the Indian team as he was a member of the 1983 World Cup winning squad. He can even play more than the role of an ambassador as he has the ability to get the winning qualities out of players. He had lifted a little known Kenya team to the semi-final of the 2003 World Cup and even held positions like Director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
The Indian team is supported by the XLR8 India, an indoor arena in Bengaluru. The India Indoor Sports Federation, has mandated XLR8 to select, train and prepare Indian cricket teams for all indoor tournaments.
Over 400 players and officials from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and the host UAE and India will take part in the World Cup.
