His claim to fame is pace.
Munaf Patel, son of a farmer from southern Gujarat's Bharuch district, is being hailed as India's fastest bowler.
He is one of the few cricketers to have played in the India 'A' tier without having first played a single Ranji Trophy match.
In fact, until a few days ago, he was not even associated with any state team. Then, all of a sudden, he had three associations lining up to sign him on -- Gujarat, Baroda, and Mumbai.
Patel's height and build are typical of a farmer. His 6'2" frame immediately makes you conscious of your own height, or lack of it. His powerful build and husky voice belie his 21 years.
Last week on November 10, Patel was finally cleared to play for Mumbai.
It was the morning before the start of the final day of the Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Baroda. Patel came out of the dressing room and started bowling alone in the nets. Later coach Chandrakant Pandit joined him, checking his action, with leg-spinner and captain Sairaj Bahutule at the other end to gather the ball. You could feel Patel's pace from the sound the ball made when Bahutule collected it.
Not surprisingly, Patel was the centre of attention in the Mumbai team. Teammates called him out from the dressing room to sit with them outside and talk to them. The coach gave him tea. Lalchand Rajput, joint secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association, took a round and asked Patel if everything was fine. Later, former India 'A' coach Sandeep Patil dropped by to ask Patel if his problem of getting a no-objection certificate to play for Mumbai had been solved.
The MCA, which was unable to get Patel a room in the Garware Club House, gave him an umpire's room to reside in.
Patel's shoulders are broad enough to carry the burden of being labelled the fastest bowler in India. And like a true fast bowler, when he starts talking there is no mincing of words. He is straight and to the point.
Munaf aka Munna is the eldest son in his family. He has two sisters who are still in school.
Though Patel came into the limelight when former Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee, director of the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, announced that he was the fastest of the bowlers he had seen at the academy, he is also known back home in Gujarat for his whirlwind batting. In one game, needing 274 to win with his team, Golden CC, struggling at 23 for 2, Patel slammed a century in just 40 balls and guided them to victory.
"I started playing cricket just as a hobby," he said. "There used to be a lot of local cricket happening in Bharuch. I used to enjoy bowling and for me it was just bowling, nothing else. We used to play with a tennis ball."
Patel has been playing since the age of 12. "I have played for quite a few cricket clubs. One of them is Matadar CC in Bharuch. I have played with the club for three years."
After his impressive performance, Patel was spotted by former India wicket-keeper Kiran More, now a member of the selection committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and he joined More's academy in Baroda. "I spent two years there," he said. "When I initially went there, it was just a fitness camp and he had not seen me bowl. It was only after three or four months that he actually saw me bowling."
Patel practised a lot in Baroda. One person who helped him in a big way there was Mahdi Sheikh of the Baroda Express Club, under whose guidance he trained.
"Kiran More was the one who recommended me at the MRF pace academy," Patel continued. "I was there from April to September 2003. My professional training in cricket began there. They focused mainly on fitness and bowling action and not on pace."
Ask him what he learnt at the academy and pat comes the reply: "The very first thing that I was told was about bowling with the left arm as it exerts more strength while bowling. Also, I was told about my action as my head was dropping down a bit. And I understood the importance of fitness."
How did he feel being praised and noticed by Australian fast bowler Brett Lee? "I had a chance to communicate with Steve Waugh when he had come to Chennai along with Lara and Sachin for the MRF Go-carting Championship. It was at that point that I got a chance to bowl to him and he praised me a lot. It so happens that if a senior player of the team knows you, the young people also know you through him."
Explaining the confusion about whether he would join the Mumbai Ranji Trophy side, he said, "I was selected to play for Mumbai and I had missed a deadline for my confirmation for playing for another state, which delayed the NOC from the Gujarat Cricket Association. Because of the delay, and it was a mistake on my part, I missed the game against Baroda."
But why did he choose Mumbai? "Mainly because they don't have good pace bowlers except for [Aavishkar] Salvi and [Ajit] Agarkar," he said. "I thought it will be easier to play for Mumbai than to get a place in the Baroda team, which has a host of good-quality pace bowlers [Zaheer Khan, Rakesh Patel, Irfan Pathan Jr, Shekhar Joshi]."
Talking about training with his heroes during the conditioning camp for the Indian team in Bangalore, he said, "There were lots of players, so there was not much interaction. It was too crowded. Also, Zaheer Khan and [Ashish] Nehra were busy with their things ahead, so they were not always there to tell you about your bowling."
Talk about his head dropping while bowling is enough to ignite his anger. "There have been many suggestions from many people," he said, the exasperation and sarcasm clear in his voice. "You all should give me advice so I will not waste my time at the MRF academy."
You may think he is happy to have made the India 'A' team without having played a single domestic first-class game. But that's not Patel. "I want to play for India," he insisted. "I will be happy jab mein aapne desh ke liye kheloonga."
Despite being hailed as the fastest, Patel says he is not in the race for pace. "I just want to bowl a good line and length," he said. "Every batsman gets out to good deliveries."
He adores Tendulkar, but says Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar "toh sauthi uupar che (is at the very top)".
Does he see himself being picked for the tour Down Under? "I will perform well in the games that we have against Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and hope I will be with the team," he said. [Unfortunately, Patel got to bowl just four overs in the first innings against Delhi on Saturday, after which the spinners came on. He eventually bowled a dozen overs and picked up one wicket.]
Straightforward, focused, passionate, Patel seems to have what it takes to make it to the top.
