Who is Sandeep Patil?

Sandeep Patil has risen like a phoenix and become the new chairman of the Indian cricket's Selection Committee. The Indian Cricket Board announced the new five-member Selection Committee on Thursday at its Annual General Meeting in Mumbai.

Patil's name came as a surprise for many as Abey Kuruvilla was in the running for the post from the West Zone while Roger Binny was tipped to be the successor of K Srikkanth. Before the appointment, Patil, who is currently working as the Director of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, was not even discussed as one of the possible candidates.

Patil played 29 Tests and 45 ODIs for India, scoring 1588 and 1005 runs in the respective formats.  He was also a member of the 1983 World Cup winning team. His score of 174 against Australia is one of the best innings by an Indian Down Under. He is also remembered for hitting England's premier fast bowler Bob Willis for six boundaries in an over which was then a world record for most runs in an over.

Post-retirement, he took up coaching job with the India A team. He went on to become the coach of the senior team in 1996. He later served as coach of the Kenyan national team as well and guided them to the semi-finals of the 2003 ICC World Cup.

Patil, in fact, ended up rubbing BCCI the wrong way when he served as one of the coaches in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League. He cut ties with the rebel league in 2009.

A dashing batsman in his prime, Patil had a huge fan following. He tried his hands movies as well. He acted in a movie named Kabhi Ajnabi The with Poonam Dhillon, which went unnoticed.