Former India batsman Sandeep Patil was named Thursday as the new chief selector ahead of home Test series against England and Australia, the country's cricket board announced. The 56-year-old replaced Krishnamachari Srikkanth whose tenure saw India clinch the 50-over World Cup at home last year and rise to number one in the Test rankings.
Patil, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team in England, retired from international cricket in 1986 with 1,588 runs in 29 Tests and 1,005 runs in 45 one-day internationals. The other selectors in the new five-man panel were Roger Binny, Saba Karim, Vikram Rathour - all former Test players - and Rajinder Singh Hans. "We wanted a person of sufficient stature to be the new chairman," the Board of Control for Cricket in India president N. Srinivasan told the media in Mumbai.