Cricinfo - Players and Officials

Full name Munaf Musa Patel
Born July 12, 1983, Ikhar, Gujarat
Current age 24 years 360 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Gujarat, India Green, Indian Board President's XI, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Rajasthan Royals
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium-fast

Batting and fielding averages

Mat

Inns

Runs

Ave

100

Tests

4.57

103

31.06

ODIs

5.33

53.33

First-class

434

14.46

List A

113

8.07

Twenty20

0.00

Bowling averages

Mat

Inns

Balls

Runs

Wkts

BBI

BBM

Ave

Econ

Tests

1890

940

4/25

7/97

33.57

2.98

67.5

ODIs

1351

1064

4/49

31.29

4.72

39.7

First-class

6746

3165

132

6/50

23.97

2.81

51.1

List A

3052

2292

4/49

29.38

4.50

39.1

Twenty20

330

420

3/17

30.00

7.63

23.5

Career statistics

Test debut

India v England at Mohali, Mar 9-13, 2006 scorecard

Last Test

India v Pakistan at Kolkata, Nov 30-Dec 4, 2007 scorecard

Test statistics

ODI debut

India v England at Margao, Apr 3, 2006 scorecard

Last ODI

India v Sri Lanka at Hobart, Feb 26, 2008 scorecard

ODI statistics

First-class debut

2003/04

Last First-class

Central Zone v West Zone at Rajkot, Jan 26-29, 2008 scorecard

List A debut

2003/04

Last List A

South Zone v West Zone at Bangalore, Mar 26, 2008 scorecard

Twenty20 debut

Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals at Delhi, Apr 19, 2008 scorecard

Last Twenty20

Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals at Mumbai, Jun 1, 2008 scorecard

Few medium-pacers had generated as much hype before bowling a ball in first-class, let alone international cricket as Munaf Musa Patel, the young boy from the little town of Ikhar in Bahruch, Gujarat did in early 2003. Kiran More, now chairman of selectors, had seen him bowl in the nets and sent him straight to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai to train under TA Sekhar and Dennis Lillee. Soon he was being hailed as the fastest man in Indian cricket. Then, even as Baroda and Gujarat vied for his services, Patel chose Mumbai, after Sachin Tendulkar had taken special interest in him and had a word with the authorities in the Mumbai Cricket Association. Even then Patel's first-class career was anything but smooth as he spent more time recovering from various injuries than actually playing.

Strongly built though not overly tall, a wild mane flowing behind him as he bustles up to the bowling crease, gathering momentum before releasing the ball with a windmill-whirl of hands, Patel's priority is to bowl quick. And it was this that first caught the eye about three years ago. Now he has added reverse swing to his repertoire and has troubled batsmen with a well-directed yorker. After plenty of speculation and close calls he finally received a call from the national selection panel for the second Test against England in March 2006, after an impressive performance for the Board President's XI saw him pick up 10 English wickets for 91 runs. Things just got better a couple of weeks later against England at Mohali when he ended with 7 for 97, the best performance by an Indian fast bowler on Test debut. A consistent series against West Indies later that year meant he had established himself as a regular member of the side.
Anand Vasu July 2006

Jun 24, 2008

Munaf Patel bowls at the Chinnaswamy Stadium © AFP

Apr 7, 2008

Munaf Patel is deep in thought during a practice session © AFP

Mar 4, 2008

A proud Sachin Tendulkar waves the Indian flag © Getty Images

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