Munaf Patel: The Bharuch Bijlee

By Anil - 6 Sep '03
September 12 2003

Overnight, a 20-year old from Bharuch, Gujarat has been transformed from being one of a million fast bowling dreamers to the real thing. Now, he suddenly finds himself bracketed with the likes of Akhtar and Lee, and Indian media and public's most sought after cricketer.

They say the 6 foot-4 inch tall, bearded hopeful gave Steve Waugh an unexpectedly torrid time in the MRF nets when he stopped over during his visit last month to India to fulfil MRF sponsorship commitments.

They say Dennis Lillee was bowled over when he saw him bowling consistently close to 150 Kph during his latest trek to Chennai's MRF Pace Foundation.

We hear that his height allows him to attain bounce that regularly startles batsmen into fending away deliveries and popping up easy catches. That he has a scorching yorker. That he gets his pace without sacrificing line and length. That he can do this all off a short runup. That he has an abundance of fast twitch muscles: fibers specialized for short, powerful bursts of activity -- a rare condition sometimes seen in top athletes that is determined at birth, and cannot be developed.

Sourav Ganguly confirmed what many hoped for when he said, at the conclusion of the Bangalore training session for the top 36 cricketers in the country, that Munaf (who was invited to the camp as a nets bowler) indeed appeared to be express, but would need to perform against the best cricketers in the country before any further talk of inducting him into the India team. At the present time, the highest level team he has played for is Gujarat U-25, and he has yet to feature in a Ranji Trophy or first-cass match.

When it comes to pace, Kapil Dev was numero uno in Indian cricket. But in spite of his success, he was fast-medium and got wickets more through guile and accuracy than raw pace -- much like Glen McGrath and Shaun Pollock today. Javagal Srinath, the only express bowler that Indian cricket has seen, was initially kept out for a couple of years when he was at his quickest, and when he did get in as a regular, had no pace bowling partner of any notable skill to help him pin down opposition. In Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, and Ajit Agarkar, we now have a trio that is capable of bowling consistently at uncomfortably high speeds of 140+ Kph.

Munaf comes from a modest family, who tried hard to dissuade him from "wasting time" on cricket, but all that's behind him now. Regardless of what happens he and his family have a secure future, with even top teams like Bombay and Baroda vying for him. Not to mention the India team, rich sponsorships, and all the usual trappings of fame when it comes to cricket in India.

Ever since Lillee declared young Munaf the fastest bowler in India, even above Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan, he has certainly been the fastest to such a high profile in Indian cricket. Nehra was recorded bowling at 150 Kph during the World Cup, making him one of the quickest bowlers in the world. Strictly speaking, that made him the second-fastest in the world with a legal action after New Zealand's Shane Bond amongst all bowlers who played in the World Cup. And if the stress fractures in Bond's back - which caused him to drop out of cricket a few months back and even skip an important Test series coming up for NZ in India shortly - force him to retire prematurely from the game, then Nehra would become the fastest bowler seen in the World Cup with a legal action. Mohammed Sami, who is deemed to have a legal action, has been clocked at 150+ speeds also, but did not play in the World Cup.

Is Munaf Patel really quicker than Ashish Nehra? If so, he may well be one of the fastest bowlers in the world. One starts to understand the euphoria surrounding him. As long as we're talking speed, how fast can we turn the Bharuch Bijlee into the Bharat Bijlee?

Cricinfo: Whirlwind from Gujarat
ThatsCricket: Munaf Patel: India’s answer to Lee & Akhtar
TOI: Sachin, Sourav to face 'desi' Brett Lee
CricketNext: Young talent needs to be nurtured carefully
TOI: Munaf Patel is having a good time