Pity Chandu is 60-plus, Gauti my favourite: Patil

Head coach Chandrakant Pandit lifts captain Shreyas Iyer after KKR’s victory. Pic/KKR

Former India coach Sandeep Patil reckons India have missed out on a smart coach with a proven record in Chandrakant Pandit, 62, who guided Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third Indian Premier League crown on Sunday. "I read about the possibility of Stephen Fleming, Ricky Ponting [although both are reportedly not keen], VVS Laxman and Gautam Gambhir becoming head coach. Had it not been for the age limit of 60, Chandu would have been spoken of as contender," Patil told mid-day from Monte Carlo, where he is holidaying.

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Sandeep Patil

"Look at Chandu's record with Mumbai, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh, India U-19 and now Kolkata Knight Riders," said Patil who coached India in 1996. While Gambhir appears to be the front runner to take over from Rahul Dravid after the T20 World Cup, there was talk of a foreigner coming in. Bobby Simpson, Geoff Marsh, John Wright, Greg Chappell, Gary Kirsten and Duncan Fletcher are the overseas personalities who have been either consultants or coaches for India since 1999.

"With due respect to foreign coaches who have worked with BCCI and the Indian team in the past, Ravi [Shastri] did a great job and Rahul [Dravid] has done a good job. Why not have one [a coach] who has been consistent for the last few years? Whatever his [Pandit's] style of coaching is, at the end of the day, results are what matter and Chandu has given results in no small measure," said Patil.

"Gautam appears to be a sound choice. I have seen him grow from his India ‘A' days till the end of his international career and now as mentor to a victorious KKR unit. He deserves a chance," Patil, who also coached India ‘A', remarked. Former India batsman Patil, 67, coached Kenya in the 2003 World Cup when the East Africans reached the semi-finals in Southern Africa. Incidentally, Pandit started leading MP two seasons after Patil decided to put a full stop to his MP and first-class cricket career in 1992-93.