Sandeep Patil believes footwork is not key to good batting

Foot-work has always been touted as a key component to have for a batsman and the lack of it resulted in being caught plumb in front, more often than not. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were supreme batsmen due to their immaculate foot-work, but the likes of Chris Gayle and Virender Sehwag could never reach that level due to their apparent failure in tackling the off-seaming and away-going deliveries. However, Sandeep Patil stated that confidence, technique, and keen eyes had helped him out when he was playing in England rather than very good foot work.

“It just happened. It was my day. That’s it. He was a gentleman, a fantastic bowler and had to be watched closely. At the end of it he patted me warmly, but greeted me with a first-ball bouncer in the next Test. You could not take someone like Willis lightly,” Patil said.

Patil was an expert at handling bowlers like Ian Botham, Derek Pringle, Paul Allott and Bob Willis. He believes the whole concern over the English Weather condition is completely exaggerated.

“I think it is all made up. I hardly faced any issues. Not that I scored runs in the thousands in England but I was not in any discomfort. I was lucky that Tatas sponsored my trip to England in 1979 to play some club cricket. I even bowled to the Indian team on tour then in the nets,” said Patil.