Why former New Zealand cricketer Dipak Patel is an unhappy man

New Zealand's former off-spinner Dipak Patel is part of cricketing folklore. He will always be best remembered for being the man who opened the bowling in the 1992 World Cup.

Why former New Zealand cricketer Dipak Patel is an unhappy man

New Zealand's former off-spinner Dipak Patel is part of cricketing folklore. He will always be best remembered for being the man who opened the bowling in the 1992 World Cup. Those were the days when he was the toast of the nation and he was a happy man, but not anymore.

The reason: When New Zealand Cricket (NZC) were looking for a coach for the national team, they scouted around but forgot to look in their backyard. "I am not happy that I was overlooked for the post of the Black Caps this year. I have not got any explanation for that and don't know who has the answers."

Now settled in Auckland, Patel says he is frustrated by the system and may have to look elsewhere for employment. "In NZC, you are always scrapping the barrel to make ends meet. I think I will probably have to go overseas to try my luck and further my career as a coach," added Patel.

Since retiring in 1997 from active cricket, Patel has been associated with coaching at various levels.
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"Everybody acknowledges that I am one of the top coaches in the country and say that they do not want to let me go abroad. Yet, there was no explanation as to why I did not get the New Zealand coach's job,'' said Patel.

From 1997 to 2002, Patel was involved with the Central Districts team and was involved in the development of some future New Zealand cricketers. "Jamie How, Jacob Oram, Ewen Thompson. Michael Mason, Matthew Sinclair were some of the players we developed. All these guys were around 18-20 when they were picked.

"The team won three trophies in my time as coach and this came after not winning anything for 35 years,'' recalls a proud Patel.

Unlucky
He then moved to the New Zealand under-19 team and had a good time before coming up against India in the semi-final of the last edition in 2008.

"I think we were unlucky that day because the rains came in. But we certainly were the better team."

Despite all these achievements as coach, Patel feels hard done by. No wonder then, the current (Andy Moles) and previous coach (John Bracewell) of New Zealand team, do not get any high ratings from Patel.

"John (Bracewell) was more in control in the sense that he tried to instill his philosophy in the team. He did not let the players be the way they were. Andy (Moles) on the other hand is laid back," said Patel.

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