2011 World Cup winning bowler Munaf Patel announced his retirement from all forms of the game on Friday. The 35-year old pacer, who made his international debut in March 2006 against England in Mohali, has played 13 Tests, 70 ODIs and 3 T20Is for India bagging 125 international wickets.
“There is no regret; after all the cricketers I played with have retired,” Munaf told The Indian Express. “Only Dhoni is left! So, there is no sadness as such. Everyone’s time is up; I would have been sad had others been playing and I had quit.
“There is no special reason, age is not on my side, 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.”
Born in Ikhar in Gujarat, Munaf represented Mumbai, Maharashtra, Baroda and Gujarat in domestic cricket. In IPL, he has played for Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Lions.
A regular member of the Playing XI during India’s world cup winning campaign in 2011, he played his last game only a few months later – against England in Cardiff.
Not only has he been out of national reckoning for a while, he hasn’t played a first-class match since 2016, and has been in and out of favour with the IPL franchises.
