Former chief selector Sandeep Patil glad about his bold decisions as Indian Test team embarks on another transition phase

India's transition process has begun, with youngsters being blooded in. Sandeep Patil, former chairman of selectors, spoke of the challenges of leaving out seniors and the need to draw a roadmap for the future. He also discussed the tricky nature of the job, which can cost friendships. Patil praised Ajit Agarkar, the new chairman, for his cricketing knowledge and familiarity with Rahul Dravid. India's transition is in safe hands.

As India started another World Test Championship cycle, against West Indies in Dominica, it marked the beginning of a transition process as the team blooded in youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan, who made their Test debut in the series opener on Wednesday.

The last time India went through a similar phase was nearly a decade ago when the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, and Zaheer Khan retired.

The man at the helm of things back then was Sandeep Patil, who served as the chairman of selectors from 2012-16. The former India cricketer spoke to The Hindu and gave insight into how it was done and the challenges of leaving out the seniors.

“We are happy we took some bold decisions which were not liked or appreciated then. But during our tenure of four years, no board member interfered. That’s how we could take a decision looking at the future of Indian cricket. We were happy about what happened (in terms of performances) in the last four or five years,” said Patil, who was in Tirunelveli as the chief guest for the TNPL final.

“Same thing is happening now, and the selectors must be thinking along the same lines. Rahul (Dravid) is the coach and is very experienced. He must be thinking about it and hoping things will be ok,” he added.

One of the challenges of dealing with transition is whether to start the process gradually or start with a clean slate now that there is a clear WTC cycle.

Patil said, “You can’t drop three or four players. You need to have vacancies. These guys are legends and have done wonders for India and world cricket. It is not easy for selectors to even think of dropping them. But then you are in a position where you have been given a job to look at the future of Indian cricket. The personal relations you have to leave aside.”