Foot-work has always been touted as a key component to have for a batsman and the lack of it resulted in being caught plumb in front, more often than not. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were supreme batsmen due to their immaculate foot-work, but the likes of Chris Gayle and Virender Sehwag could never reach that level due to their apparent failure in tackling the off-seaming and away-going deliveries. However, Sandeep Patil stated that confidence, technique, and keen eyes had helped him out when he was playing in England rather than very good foot work.

“This footwork thing is over-blown. You should have good technique, keen eye and, most importantly, confidence. That is what helped me when I played in England. True I played just two Tests there but I did have several seasons in minor county and did not fail,” Patil told The Hindu.

Sandeep Patil had hit six fours in one over at Old Trafford in the 1982 Test series, completely baffling the bowler, Bob Willis. Patil made an unbeaten 129 in the same match.

“It just happened. It was my day. That’s it. He was a gentleman, a fantastic bowler and had to be watched closely. At the end of it he patted me warmly, but greeted me with a first-ball bouncer in the next Test. You could not take someone like Willis lightly,” Patil said.

“I think my batting average in the tour games was not even 10. I was going through a torrid time on the domestic front and my mind was very disturbed. In fact at one stage I told Sunil (Gavaskar) to send me back to Bombay. but he had faith in my abilities and gave me a long lecture which convinced me to stay on,” he added.

Patil was an expert at handling bowlers like Ian Botham, Derek Pringle, Paul Allott and Bob Willis. He believes the whole concern over the English Weather condition is completely exaggerated.

“I think it is all made up. I hardly faced any issues. Not that I scored runs in the thousands in England but I was not in any discomfort. I was lucky that Tatas sponsored my trip to England in 1979 to play some club cricket. I even bowled to the Indian team on tour then in the nets,” said Patil.

“I did not fail because I believed in timing the ball than worrying about footwork. I would say the current batsmen should look to time the ball, learn to wait for it, and put away the fear of failure,” he added.