‘Never used foul language’

News of his alleged outburst during the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) meeting has been all over the sport pages of late. So too the spate of resignations that have followed the contentious October 5 meeting that ended up pushing Patil into the limelight.

Straight up,Patil insists that he is in no way enamoured by the incessant media attention that has come his way over the past week. The CIC episode has certainly left him upset and he’s not pleased at all by the way he’s come out as the villain of the piece. Patil also insists that he will hold back his comments regarding the fateful meeting till the MCA’s managing committee meeting is done.

At the same time,he’s also miffed about the fact that the media never quite bothered to ask him about his version of the supposed train of events.

“I’m hurt and disappointed with all this. As a CIC member,I have a right to put forth my views during the meeting and I just did that. Am I wrong in asking questions?,” he says.

Patil has been accused of using foul language and snarling at the senior players,who ended up quitting their CIC posts in the aftermath.

“I can get a little loud sometimes but that’s the way my tone is. I have been reading everywhere that I used foul language against the CIC members. I can assure you that I never did that. I only spoke after taking the permission of the chairman,” he adds.

The bone of contention that allegedly led to the dispute was regarding the appointment of the coaches for the junior teams. Every year,nearly 20 coaches pass the level ‘B’ exams and are later divided across the many summer vacation camps in the city during April and May. Patil too is one among these coaches and he passed his exams a few years ago. And he believes that the MCA should look at giving more chances to these local coaches,who give their all to enhance the standard of the game in the city.

“Is promoting a local coach a bad thing? After all these guys are working hard and giving their all. There are some good coaches waiting for a shot at getting a promotion. And I have seen them work from close quarters. This is only my view,” he states.

Patil also denies having ever pushed his own name for the post of the under-22 team’s coach. In fact,there have also been reports of a few MCA officials having proposed Patil’s name for the job in the past.

“People in the MCA know the truth,I don’t need to justify my stand. Let the managing committee meet,and I will provide an explanation if I’m asked to,” concludes Patil before going back to the stack of papers on his desk.