MunafPatel

Munaf Patel comes from a rare crop of Indian fast bowlers who were fast, brisk, and full of aggression. The pacer comes from Gujarat's Bharuch and made an instant name when Kiran More saw him bowling in the nets and then sent Munaf straight to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai to train under Dennis Lillee. 

A 20-year-old Munaf was soon fast-tracked to be touted as the fastest man in Indian cricket but like every other fast-bowler, he was befriended by injuries. The Bharuch-born was sent to the Australian Institute of Sport to improve its efficiency in 2004. A year later, Munaf was signed by Mumbai in a transfer deal with the backing of Sachin Tendulkar. 

After expressing highly, the seamer was placed into the national team in early 2006 to announce himself by bowling at the high 140s. Munaf made his Test debut against visiting England where his extreme pace troubled Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman at slips, apart from teasing the English side. The slip fielders dropped catches off Munaf and later said that they aren’t used to fielding at that speed. Although the Bharuch Express ended with 7 for 97, the best performance by an Indian fast bowler on the Test debut. He backed up his debut performances with another brilliant series against West Indies when he teased Brian Lara. 

However, Munaf’s old foe, the injury, came back and he lost his pace thereafter as other fast bowlers replaced him. Too many injuries meant that the seamer had to remodel his bowling action to shift to being a line-and-length bowler. Munaf was recalled to the Indian side for the tour of Sri Lanka in 2010 and he managed to establish himself in the ODI team that led to the selection for the World Cup squad.

He contributed highly in India’s title-winning tournament where he regularly put up exceptional performances. The seamer was India’s third-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 11 scalps at 32.09. Though, it became the last year that the Bharuch Express played for India. 

Despite representing India last in 2011, Munaf was a regular in the Indian Premier League until 2017. The pacer first featured for Rajasthan Royal in the first three editions, then shifted to Mumbai, before playing for Gujrat Lions in 2017. The following year, the Bharuch Express retired from competitive cricket to provide services in foreign leagues. 

(As of April 2021)