Happy Birthday Sandeep Patil: Did You Know The Cricketer Had A Plane Parked In His House?

Sandeep Patil remained in the league of those cricketers who were not only famous for what they did on the ground but also for their out-of-the-ground endeavours. 

A destructive right-handed batsman, the backbone of the Indian team’s middle batting order, a coach of the Kenyan underdogs — who surprised many during the 2003 Cricket World Cup after making it to the semi-finals — and a crowd puller. This is a brief introduction of former Indian cricketer Sandeep Patil who turns 66 today. Patil remained in the league of those cricketers who were not only famous for what they did on the ground but also for their out-of-the-ground endeavours. 

Cricketer With An Aircraft At Home

In the 1980s, Patil had bought a two-seater Commander 12 aircraft having a 30-feet wingspan. It was parked on the terrace of his ancestral property in Dadar Shivaji Park, Mumbai. Not stopping at this, he revamped and refurbished it, converting it into a bar by removing the engine of the plane. 

Unfortunately, the infamous Mumbai rains led the aircraft to collapse and the plane was later dismantled and sold to a hotel in Mumbai.

'Patilwadi' Station

Patil has also built a make-believe railway station Patilwadi, having rails and a platform, at his Panvel house. He has even tried his fortunes in Bollywood.

After winning the 1983 world cup, Patil worked in a Hindi film named Kabhie Ajnabi The. In the movie, he played the protagonist, a young cricketer, against actresses Poonam Dhillon and Debashree Roy.

Cricketing Career

Patil made his Ranji debut in 1975 while playing for Mumbai. Later, he played his first international match against Pakistan in January 1980. Although his ODI career remained not so appealing, he played 29 Test matches for India, taking nine wickets and scoring 1588 runs including four hundred and seven fifties.

Coaching Career

After retiring from international cricket in 1986, he went on to coach the Indian national cricket team and the India ‘A’ team. Under his coaching stint, the Kenyan cricket team unexpectedly made it to the semi-finals of the 2003 Cricket World Cup. 

Patil has also been the chairman of the selector committee of BCCI from 2012 to 2016. His stint as the chairman is remembered for investing in young players that later helped India to become the world’s number one cricket team.