Munaf Patel: Brittle in body or mind?

MUMBAI, June 13: A little over a year ago, he left the England batsmen hopping on a helpful Mohali pitch to register a memorable Test debut. But when the call for dishing out the same on the softer English pitches comes this July, Munaf Patel will be too far away to hear that.
The national selection committee has clearly lost patience with Munaf and decided against committing the mistake of picking a "bowler with a question mark".
After watching Munaf spend time with the team as a passenger in South Africa and then his return mid-way from Bangladesh with a back injury, the selectors were having nothing more of it. "He has let us down. We cannot keep picking him again and again just on promise. He has to back it up with fitness and play out a full series," said a selector.
The 'cold English weather' was also dished out as another factor which could unsettle the injury-prone bowler further.
The selectors are already miffed with Munaf's 'fall' from being a bowler with pace to a stickler for line and length. He has been clearly told that his place in the side is that of a spearhead and not a stock bowler.
So who is to blame for Munaf's "fit-unfit-fit" status? The team's trainer Greg King and physio John Gloster come first in the firing line for the way they have handled Munaf.
But Board is unwilling to blame the duo. "How can you get into somebody's mind. Only you as an individual can judge the threshold pain. I don't want to blame anyone," asserted Niranjan Shah, BCCI secretary.
Instead, for a change, the selectors are being lauded by the Board. "It is good that the selectors are being more cautious," remarked Shah.
But what is being forgotten is that first King and then Gloster had both declared Munaf fit for selection. Even board doctor Anant Joshi pronounced him fit and said he could resume bowling in early June.
"Munaf is looking good and coming along well. He completed all the fitness drills," King had said after the bowlers' camp in Mysore last week. "He didn't have any serious injury in Bangladesh. It was a very short tour and he was sent back as he was not going to play in the next game," added King.
Gloster then sent a report to the Board, but he slipped in a rider. "Munaf needs to be watched a little more in his final bowling action. His tolerance would be tested when he starts bowling. He needs to be seen at the nets from June 12."
It is clear that Munaf has the sympathy of the support staff rather than the men who matter, selectors. A key member of the support staff told TOI that Munaf's condition is more a state of mind than anything else. "In Bangladesh he bowled with reasonable pace in the second one-dayer. He is somebody who needs to be given confidence that he has to do more of the same. Its only a question of time," said the member of the staff. The Board and selectors are however not on the same wavelength. "I agree he is one of our top bowlers. But if he is talented he should be on the ground," said Shah.
The last hasn't been heard yet on the talented bowler. Hopefully, things will pan out for the better.
PATEL RAP
* March 2006: Match-winning Test debut vs England, Mohali
* April 2006: ODI Test debut vs England
* June 2006: Bowls India to a series win in West Indies
October 2006: First signs of a 'slow' Munaf during Champions Trophy
November 2006: Injures ankle in South Africa, stays on with team
December 2006: Physio declares him fit. Still does not play till final Test
January 2007: Board orders 'thorough medical test' by Anant Joshi
January 2007: Misses ODI series against West Indies, but plays against Sri Lanka
March 2007: Plays World Cup
May 2007: Returns from Bangladesh with a back injury
June 2007: Declared fit at the bowlers' camp in Mysore by physio and trainer
June 2007: Selectors ignore him for Ireland and England tours