OTD | Munaf Patel was born in 1983

Munaf Patel was born on July 12, 1983, in the small village of Ikhar in Bharuch, Gujarat. The tall pacer first grabbed the eyeballs of national selectors with his performances in domestic matches. Over a decade-long international career, he delivered crucial performances for India and was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad, and later took up coaching roles, recently serving as the bowling coach for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2025.

Trained at the MRF Pace Foundation under Dennis Lillee and T. A. Sekhar, Munaf got to represent Mumbai in domestic cricket after impressing Sachin Tendulkar and Kiran More. He made his first-class debut with Baroda. His Test and ODI debut came in the same year, 2006, with him picking a seven-fer against England at Mohali in his maiden Test match. His bowling drew comparisons with Australian great Glenn McGrath. However, constant injuries and several Indian pacers led to him being in and out of the team.

Munaf represented India in 13 Tests, 70 ODIs, and three T20Is, picking 125 international wickets. After a brilliant series against the West Indies in 2006, injuries sidelined him from the squad; however, he was recalled to the ODI side in 2010.

In the 2011 ODI World Cup, Patel finished as India’s third-highest wicket-taker with 11 scalps, including a four-wicket haul against Bangladesh in the opening game. Munaf’s international career concluded later in 2011 after a tough tour of England. He finished with career averages of 30.26 in ODIs and 38.54 in Tests.

In the IPL, he played for Rajasthan Royals from 2008 to 2010, before a stint with Mumbai Indians in 2011. Over 101 T20s, he claimed 104 wickets at an economy of 6.94. After hanging up his boots, Munaf transitioned into a coach. Recently, he joined the Delhi Capitals setup in 2025 as their bowling coach. He was later appointed the new bowling coach of the Major League Cricket (MLC) team, Seattle Orcas.

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