NEW DELHI: Former India batsman Sandeep Patil was named Thursday as the new chief selector ahead of home Test series against England and Australia, the country’s cricket board announced.
The 56-year-old replaced Krishnamachari Srikkanth whose tenure saw India clinch the 50-over World Cup at home last year and rise to number one in the Test rankings.
Patil, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team in England, retired from international cricket in 1986 with 1,588 runs in 29 Tests and 1,005 runs in 45 one-day internationals.
The other selectors in the new five-man panel were Roger Binny, Saba Karim, Vikram Rathour — all former Test players — and Rajinder Singh Hans.
“We wanted a person of sufficient stature to be the new chairman,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India president N. Srinivasan told the media in Mumbai.
“And I think Sandeep Patil fits the bill. No one can question his credentials.” The selectors’ first assignment will be to pick the squad against second-ranked England, who arrive in India next month to play a four-Test series.
India, currently fifth in the International Cricket Council Test rankings, will also play four Tests against Australia at home this season.
Patil named India’s new chief selector
Patil named India’s new chief selector
Djokovic ready to suffer one more time in Australian Open final
- Serbian veteran must fire up his weary body one more time with history at stake
- Novak Djokovic is striving to win a record-extending 11th Melbourne crown
MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic compared his five-set Australian Open semifinal takedown of Jannik Sinner to winning a Grand Slam and now the Serbian veteran must fire up his weary body one more time with history at stake on Sunday.
The 38-year-old stunned two-time champion Sinner to set up a bumper final on Rod Laver Arena against world number one Carlos Alcaraz, who is 16 years his junior.
The Spaniard was also forced through five sets to beat Alexander Zverev, spending more than five hours on court.
Both men are aiming to etch their names in tennis history.
Djokovic is striving to win a record-extending 11th Melbourne crown and with it a 25th major title to finally surpass Margaret Court’s long-standing landmark.
Should he do so, he will also become the oldest man to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old Alcaraz has already won six Grand Slams and is bidding to become the youngest man to complete a career sweep of all four majors.
Fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who is in Melbourne, did it at 24.
“My preparation is as it should be, and I won against him last year here, you know, also in a grueling match,” said Djokovic, who will be making a first major finals appearance since Wimbledon in 2024.
“Let’s see. Let’s see how fresh are we both able to be.
“He also had a big match, but he has 15, 16 years on me. You know, biologically I think it’s going to be a bit easier for him to recover.”
The fourth seed last claimed a Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2023 with Sinner and Alcaraz dominating since.
Recovery will be key, with Alcaraz cramping badly against Zverev, where he battled back from a 5-3 deficit in the fifth set.
“Obviously my body could be better, to be honest, but I think that’s normal after five hours and a half,” he said after the grueling test, suggesting he may have an abductor issue.
“Hopefully it’s not going to be anything at all, but after five-hours-and-a-half match and that high level physically, I think the muscles are going to be tight.
“I just got to do whatever it takes to be as good as I can for the final.”
Djokovic leads 5-4 in their head-to-heads, but the margins have often been razor-thin.
Alcaraz won their most recent clash, at the US Open last year, but Djokovic came out on top at the Australian Open in 2025 with a gutsy four-set quarter-final victory.
Regardless of what happens, Alcaraz will remain world number one and Sinner two, with Djokovic moving up a place to three ahead of Zverev.
