Munaf Patel. — Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

Bangalore: Munaf Patel, hailing from a remote village named Ikhar in Gujarat, has coped well with the journey of a village lad pitch-forked into the glare of limelight.

"I am from a small village and am mentally tough. And nothing really affects me. When I bowl well and get some wickets, that is the biggest high for me", Munaf said.

The lanky speedster had caught the attention of the people a few years ago as he was described as the fastest bowler in India.

The media glare soon vanished as Munaf struggled with a few injuries while playing for Mumbai before switching over to Maharashtra. "Yes, there was a lot of attention on me in the camp here two years ago. The talk was centred on my speed. Later I had my injuries.

Thanks to MRF

"However Ihave to thank the MRF Pace Foundation for guiding me. Without them I would have remained unknown. Kiran More Sir recommended me to them and after training there, I got an opportunity to train with the Indian probables in Bangalore.

"That really helped me understand the concept of training, reading the batsman's mind, or the required line and length that I have to bowl to succeed. Before that I knew nothing", Munaf said.

Subsequently after a stint with Mumbai followed by a switch to Maharashtra, Munaf came into the reckoning and his 10-wicket haul for Board President's XI against the visiting England team eventually earned him an India cap. "I had no problems with Mumbai but they had so many bowlers like Nilesh Kulkarni, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, A. Salvi and Sairaj Bahutule that the opportunities were limited. When I switched to Maharashtra, the team did depend on me and Sairaj to deliver and that was challenging. I bowled well against England in the tour game", Munaf said.

Munaf sparkled in the last tour of the West Indies. He scalped 14 wickets and was a key bowler in India's eventual 1-0 historic Test Series victory. "In the West Indies I gained a lot of confidence and we played well as a team which is very important considering that next year we would be playing the World Cup there. Getting Brian Lara out thrice in Tests was a great feeling. Come on, Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara are considered as the greatest batsmen around and to get one of them out is indeed memorable", Munaf said.

On fellow bowlers

Munaf's emergence along with Sreesanth has coincided with a subtle decline in Irfan Pathan's form. Munaf however does not read much into his emerging role as the leading pace bowler and he reiterates his gratitude to his fellow pace bowlers. "Irfan is too good a bowler and once he gets his rhythm, he will be back. Every bowler has his share of one or two bad series. As for Zaheer, without him I wouldn't have learnt much about fast bowling. Zaheer, Agarkar and I represent West Zone and the two of them help me a lot. In our domestic matches, Zaheer would often stand at mid-on or mid-off and constantly encourage and advise me. Same with Agarkar. I learnt a lot from them. They are senior bowlers and they want the juniors to do well so that the team keeps progressing", Munaf said.

Munaf is focused on the twin objectives of winning and maintaining good line and length. "We have the tri-series in Malaysia and then the Champions Trophy and the more we win in the lead-up to the World Cup, the better it is. We gel well as a team and I want to keep improving. Line and length is more important than speed. Yes you got to bowl with pace but if you compare McGrath with Lee or Asif with Shoaib, you know who gets more wickets. It is line and length that helps more than raw speed. I want to bowl fast but line and length is important," he said.

Camp

Meanwhile at the cricket skills camp, Munaf along with M.S. Dhoni, Suresh Raina, R.P. Singh and Sreesanth had their batting drills with golf balls and the bowling machine. Later Munaf, Sreesanth and R.P. Singh bowled to Dhoni and Raina. A scare was caused when Raina's full-blooded shot slammed into a retreating Sreesanth. "One of the ball boys yelled and luckily I turned away and got struck on my back. It pains and there is some swelling but overall I am okay and there is nothing to worry about," a relieved Sreesanth said. The above-mentioned players will conclude their camp on Monday.

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