`We would have dropped Sachin if he didn’t retire’

Former chief selector of Indian Cricket team Sandeep Patil  revealed that Sachin Tendulkar would have been dropped from the Indian ODI team in 2012 had he not decided to call it a day.

In an interview with a TV channel from India , Patil said the batting legend decided to quit the shorter format when he realised what was coming. “On December 12, 2012, we met Sachin and asked him about his plans. He said he did not have retirement on his mind. But the selectors had reached a consensus and even informed the board about it. Perhaps Sachin understood what was coming, as at the next meeting, he announced he was retiring from ODIs,“ he said.

Patil also revealed they had considered sacking Dhoni as captain a few times, but decided against any change ahead of the 2015 World Cup. Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar would have been dropped from the Indian ODI team in 2012 had he not announced his retirement, former chief selector Sandeep Patil revealed in an interview to Marathi channel ABP Majha on Wednesday . It was heavily speculated in the media at the time of Tendulkar’s retirement that he had been nudged by the selectors to leave.

“On Dec 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,“ Patil made this stunning revelation.

However, when talking to another channel, Patil has come out with a slightly different version of how he `managed’ Tendulkar’s ODI retirement. “As long as I remember, it was December 12, 2012, Nagpur. Sachin got out and the selectors decided to meet him and ask him about his wish. I was the one who staged the meet, being the chairman of selectors, and it was purely to understand what was running in his mind. It was a good thing to do. It did not happen in one day , one month or one year, it took two long years. Sachin retired in 2013. The meeting in Nagpur was just to ask his plans. Sachin wanted to concentrate more on Test cricket. So, it was decided that he would retire from One-day cricket. He called me and Sanjay Jagdale (then BCCI secretary). Then it was collectively decided that he would retire from ODIs.“

Ironically, in his last press conference before he quit as chief selector, Patil had skirted the question on whether Tendulkar was told in advance to call it a day before the hurriedly arranged three-Test series against the West Indies in 2013.“There are some matters between the selectors and BCCI which should remain confidential and cannot be revealed,“ Patil had then said.

With 18,426 runs under his belt in 463 matches, Tendulkar is the highest-ever run-scorer and century-getter (51) in ODIs. The channel later tweeted Patil’s quote that “a lot of ex-players were disappointed for not being given the kind of farewell Tendulkar received from the BCCI.“ Tendulkar had received an emotional farewell at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, his hometown, in November 2013.

`Dhoni’s decision to quit Tests was shocking’

Patil also felt that MS Dhoni’s decision to retire from Tests in the middle of a Test series against Australia in December 2014 was “shocking.“ “Things didn’t move in our favour, and in that backdrop one of your senior players decided to hang his gloves. That was shocking, but in the end, it was his decision,“ the 1983 World Cup winner said. Patil also revealed that his panel did mull sacking Dhoni as a captain, but then decided to stick to the man who led India to their second World Cup triumph in 2011.