Munaf Patel
Full name Munaf Patel
Born July 12, 1983, Ikhar, Gujarat
Current age 27 years 191 days
Playing role Bowler
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium-fast
Major teams India, Asia XI, Gujarat, India Green, Indian Board President's XI, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Rajasthan Royals
Munaf Patel Profile
Munaf Patel's tale is similar to a breed of Indian bowlers such as Sreesanth, Balaji and RP Singh who also broke through the Indian ranks with the same amount of experience backing them as this lad did. Blessed with raw pace, injuries forced him to reorder his motives to become a more all-round bowler with variation.
Yet, it was that pace which saw Patel lauded much before his international debut. When it did arrive, against England in 2006 in a Test at Mohali, it created history. He added supplementary feathers in his cap following a successful Caribbean tour the same year, by which time Patel started to make inroads into a permanent slot. Best ODI figures against Sri Lanka in 2007 further added up to a place in India's bowling attack for the 2007 World Cup. Despite the team's failure in the tournament, Patel kept his place in the ODI team, until 2008, after which injuries started to hamper the fast bowler.
He continued to remain in and around the fringes in a pace attack where change is the only constant! Yet, people still eagerly await the complete realisation of Patel's promise, in an Indian team that itself has finally started to deliver more often than flatter.
Fast Facts
* As of December 2010, Munaf’s 7/97 in his first Test against England are the best figures for an Indian fast bowler on debut.
