Overview
- Sandeep Patil said he informed Sachin Tendulkar in 2012 that the panel was looking for his replacement, drawing the response, “Are you serious?”
- Patil described a closed-door conversation held after the Nagpur Test loss to England, for which he and selector Rajendra Singh Hans sought permission through the ACU and team manager.
- According to Patil, Tendulkar initially said he wanted to continue, then announced his ODI retirement within a week and played Tests for another year before a 2013 farewell.
- Patil emphasized that selectors can drop players but cannot order retirements, framing the exchange as asking about Tendulkar’s plans rather than pushing him out.
- The former chief selector defended his tenure by highlighting the introduction of Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.