Munaf Patel

Tall and wiry, Munaf Patel was regarded to be the quickest Indian bowler when he strode onto the scene in 2003. From a remote area in Ikhar in Bahruch, Gujarat, he burst onto the domestic scene bowling with raw pace. Kiran More, the then Chairman of Selectors saw him bowl in the nets and was impressed. More sent Munaf to train under Dennis Lillee and TA Sekhar at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. Even as Gujarat and Baroda showed interest in him, he choose Mumbai after impressing Sachin Tendulkar.

It was not all smooth sailing from that moment as injuries took a toll on his career. But a breakthrough performance against the visiting Englishmen prompted a call-up to the national side in 2006. He made his debut against England in Mohali, taking 7 for 97 and heralded the arrival of a new star on the Indian pace bowling front.

A consistent series against the West Indies followed as he troubled Brian Lara repeatedly. But as with all fast bowlers in India, injuries, lack of discipline and a lazy attitude sidelined him. Munaf lost his pace and his place in the side soon after as a new breed of fast bowlers emerged on the scene.

Munaf received lot of flak for his lacklustre show in the deciding Cape Town test against South Africa in 2007 when he declared himself fit, when he clearly wasn't and underperformed. He was omitted from the side and only fought his way back again through some solid domestic performances.

Munaf has the ability to get natural reverse swing when the ball becomes old - a trait that has helped him bowl at the death. Munaf's stock ball is the leg cutter which moves away and squares up the batsmen. Munaf has modeled his action on Glenn McGrath and some observers have even compared his metronomic accuracy to the great man. Munaf's greatest strength is that he sticks to his basics and doesn't try to experiment. Due to his skill in attacking the stumps, Munaf gets a lot of bowled and LBW dismissals.

With injuries to Zaheer and Sreesanth, Munaf was recalled to the Indian side for the tour of Sri Lanka in 2010 and he managed to establish himself in the ODI side with his consistent performances. With an improved fitness regimen assisting him, he managed to stay fit and played an important, yet rarely noticed role in India's victorious World Cup campaign in 2011. But unfortunately, it was the last year that he played for India. Since India's horrendous tour to England, the pacer has not been able make a comeback into the side.

Munaf starred for the Rajasthan Royals in the first three editions of the IPL and was bought by the Mumbai Indians to play for them in the fourth edition. Munaf's fielding and batting are nothing to write about, which have often bordered on the comical. But during the fourth edition of the IPL, he put in a much improved fielding performance under the guidance of fielding coach, Jonty Rhodes.

Interesting facts: Munaf's nicknames are Muke and Munna.

He had an ugly altercation with Amit Mishra during the fourth edition of the IPL. Both exchanged heated words which ended with Mishra smashing Munaf to all parts of the ground. Unfortunately, Munaf was not able to cement his place in the Mumbai side and did not play any game in the 6th edition of the league. He couldn't quite make any significant contributions even in the domestic circuit and that meant, there were no buyers for him in the 2014 IPL auctions.

By Srivathsa - March 2014