"It is too early to predict a winner. Moreover, tactical advantages don't count in the shortest version of the game as the form of players keeps fluctuating in every match. If Ray Jennings (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Shaun Pollocks (coach of Mumbai Indians) are to be believed, than South Africa should have won the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup and not India," Patil told Cricketnext on Thursday.
"South Africa is a terrific place and has the ideal conditions to play a Twenty20 tournament of any magnitude. But I don't agree with either Jennings or Pollock that a team which has the highest number of South African players has a clear advantage. It is really foolish to predict a winner in a Twenty20 tournament even before the tournament has started," Patil added.
"So, according to me no team can claim that they hold an advantage in a Twenty20 tournament simply because of its unpredictable nature. Probably that is the main reason of its popularity world wide as it is impossible to predict a clear winner at any stages of the tournament," Patil observed.
Jennings, the former South African coach, had said on Wednesday that the Bangalore team had a definite tactical advantage of winning the IPL in South Africa as it had five South African players, including Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Dale Steyn and the new recruit South African born-England star Kevin Pietersen, in its ranks while Pollock, the former South African all-rounder, had agreed to it despite having three South Africans in his team, including promising youngster Jean-Paul Diminy and former star fielder Jonty Rhodes as his assistant coach.
Defending champions Rajasthan Royals too have three Proteas in their ranks, including South African skipper Graeme Smith while Deccan Chargers has one of the most destructive batsman of modern era in Hershchelle Gibbs.
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