BCCI chief slams Sandip Patil for spilling beans about Sachin, MSD

New Delhi, September 27

BCCI president Anurag Thakur today slammed former selection committee chief Sandeep Patil, saying it was “unethical” on his part to reveal certain confidential details about Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and others after his tenure ended earlier this month.

Thakur stopped short of saying that action will be taken against Patil but said “right people in the BCCI” will speak to him soon over the issue which has created a major controversy. Patil, a former international cricketer, recently disclosed that the selection panel would have dropped Sachin Tendulkar before he eventually quit international cricket and that it had also considered removing MS Dhoni from the ODI captaincy ahead of the 2015 World Cup.

“Let me make it very clear. Sandeep being a former chairman should not have made these comments. When he was the chairman, he replied differently to the same questions. But after that his tenure ended, it was different. It was totally unethical to do that,” Thakur said. “One should refrain from making such unethical and unwanted comments in selection matters. He was trusted with the responsibility of the chairman because he had played enough cricket. There were four more selectors with him, they did not say anything. He (Patil) should have avoided that,” the BCCI president said. 

Asked whether any action was being contemplated by the Board against Patil over the breach of confidentiality, he said, “Right people in the BCCI will speak to him soon.” Thakur went to the extent of saying such breach of confidentiality would make it difficult for any of Patil’s future employers to trust him. “Any organisation, if they hire him (Patil), will think 10 times before hiring him, as after leaving the organisation, he will speak about the organisation,” he said. 

Patil’s tenure ended when the panel announced the 15-man squad for the Test series against New Zealand. — PTI

"When Sandip Patil was the chairman, he replied differently to the same questions. But after his tenure ended, it was different. It was totally unethical to do that. He was trusted with the responsibility of the chairman because he had played enough cricket. There were four more selectors with him, they did not say anything. He (Patil) should have avoided that" Anurag Thakur, BCCI president

"On December 12, 2012, we met Sachin and asked him about his future plans. He said he did not have retirement on his mind. But the selection committee had reached a consensus on Sachin... and had informed the board too about it. Perhaps Sachin understood what was coming because at the time of the next meeting, Sachin called and said he was retiring (from ODIs). If he had not announced his decision to quit then, we would have definitely dropped him" Sandip Patil, on dropping Sachin Tendulkar