Known for his aggressive batting and innovative coaching, Sandeep Patil is all set to show another side of his personality. Making his debut on television, Patil is hosting Taste Match on Living Foodz where he treats his guests to gastronomic delights personally prepared by him. “The idea got planted 10 years back but I got busy with cricket assignments.” If his cricket was aggressive, Patil says cooking is relaxing. “There is no link except for the alphabet c...cricket, coaching and cooking. As I cross 60, I think cooking is the best thing that happened to me. It is the best way to relax.”
Always interested in donning an apron, Patil says though he is cooking for the last 25 years and used to feed himself when he was playing League cricket in England, he got seriously interested in cooking when he travelled to Nairobi for 18 consecutive years. “After completing my First Class cricket career in India, I played for Nairobi Gymkhana and later coached the Kenyan side. The liking for cooking developed during this period. All my Nairobi friends cook every evening. They gather every evening in the Kenyan way and party for 365 days a year.”
Unlike his experimental shots, Patil loves to go by the book in kitchen. “I have a recipe book of my own. I do try different variants but I want to learn the authentic way first. I can cook almost 200 dishes. If I like something in a restaurant, I don’t hesitate in asking the chef. I am not a TV buff but I follow all the food shows.”
At home, Patil admits that his mother is a good cook and his wife is a better cook. “But I don’t allow them into kitchen any more. It is a hobby but today the first thing that I do in the mornings is enter kitchen and the last thing I do before sleeping is that I leave kitchen.” For many, it is a stress buster. “I am always in a good mood. I am a happy-go-lucky man. I am very happy that whatever little chances I got, I enjoyed. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody.”
A part of the World Cup winning team of 1983, the series will feature many of his teammates like Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Kapil Dev and Kirti Azad. It will also see Patil chatting up with players he picked and backed as the Chairman of Selectors like M.S. Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Shikhar Dhawan. “What they say, I prepare. Sunil likes sookha (dry) mutton nalli in the Maharashtrian style – real spicy and hot. Sachin loves fish, prawns and lobsters. Same with Virat, he also loves sea food. Most of the cricketers these days enjoy sea food more than mutton. Today’s players are very health conscious and the fact that fish is not fattening attracts them.” Can a cricketer be vegetarian and survive at the top level? “Of course. In our era, there were Dilip Doshi and Yashpal Sharma were there. Later Srinath and Kumble and Laxman were vegetarian. Now, R. Ashwin is vegetarian,” relates Patil.
Camera friendly!
What attracted the channel may be, is his camera friendly personality. After all he has done a film as a lead actor! “I don’t know whether I am camera friendly or not but I am a friendly guy for sure,” remarks Patil.
But on the pitch, fast bowlers felt differently. The flamboyant cricketer was one of the rare Indian batsman who scored handsomely against speedsters of quality. Be it Dennis Lillee and Len Pascoe in Adelaide or Bob Willis in Manchester, Patil destroyed many a reputation on his day. “That was the only style I had. I had no option,” reflects Patil. “We had too many great players when I played. Sunil, Vishwanath, Mohinder and Vengsarkar, they were all technically correct and disciplined. I had to do something different to be in that group,” Patil grins. These days the value of aggression and definition of discipline has changed. “Different era, different cricketers, different administrators. Whatever little I played, I enjoyed,” Patil doesn’t want to reopen the bitter chapters. Though he shared the new ball with Kapil Dev once in a Test match, few remember his bowling? “I was the fastest slow bowler,” he chuckles.
A non-vegetarian 365 days, Patil says he loved going to Australia, Pakistan and West Indies tours for culinary options as well. Did he share something with with fast bowlers as well? “Don’t scare me, now,” quips Patil.
Multi-faceted
Does he look back at the idea of doing Kabhi Ajnabee The in his midst of his cricket career? “It was a super experience. I got lot of Indian tomatoes!” he laughs. “I am a guy who likes to pick opportunities. I am not one who will crib and complain later. My idea is life is short, enjoy it,” he reasons. Perhaps, that’s why he wrote his autobiography a bit early. “Yes, I had nothing to write. It was called ‘Sandy Storm’ but there was no storm in it. Sunil advised me to write as I was the editor of a sports magazine and had flair for writing but as I said there was not much to write about.”
With the IPL on, Patil says, “It is an absolute marvel but I haven’t watched a single match in a stadium so far in the last ten years. It is not that I have anything against the tournament. It is a fabulous concept but I have already played IPL kind of cricket during my playing days. Srikkanth started it. He was the trendsetter of what we are watching today.”
