Munaf Patel, a member of World Cup winning team in 2011, has announced his retirement from international cricket. The right-arm pacer will now be part of the upcoming T10 league, where he will be playing for Rajputs. Coming with a tag of being the next big thing in Indian cricket, Munaf got a big boost ahead of the debut in domestic cricket as he impressed none other than Sachin Tendulkar.
His first-class debut came for India A against the visiting New Zealand team in Rajkot in 2003. In less than three years, he went on to play Test cricket. His Test debut came against South Africa in Durban in 2006 in March while his ODI debut came a month later.
His career was marred by injuries which saw him end up playing just 13 Tests and 70 ODIs with his last international appearance coming in 2011. He also played three T20Is, all coming in 2011.
“There is no regret; after all the cricketers I played with have retired. Only Dhoni is left! Baki sab done ho chuke hain. So, there is no sadness as such. Sabka time khatam ho chuka hain, ghum hota jab saare khel rahe hote aur mein retire kar raha hota (everyone’s time is up; there will be sadness only if others are playing and only I had quit!),” he was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
“There is no special reason, age ho chuka hai, fitness is not the same. Youngsters are there waiting for chances and it doesn’t look nice if I keep hanging on. The main thing is there is no motivation left. I was part of World Cup winning team in 2011; there can’t be a greater high than that,” he added.
