da apostebet： Munaf Patel has far more serious concerns than a sore ankle with the BCCI openly questioning his integrity
da supremo： Anand Vasu in Rajkot09-Jan-2007
Munaf Patel was not in full steam in the third Test at Cape Town © AFP
Munaf Patel, the Indian fast bowler, has far more serious concerns than a sore ankle with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) openly questioning his integrity. Munaf,who was injured after the second one-dayer in South Africa took no furtherpart in the series until the final Test, where he was obviously well belowpeak fitness, and bowled at less than full capacity.Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said that he had summoned JohnGloster, the physiotherapist of the Indian team, to the offices of theboard in Mumbai on Monday for a full debriefing on what exactly happenedwith Munaf, but backed the team management and the physio to the hilt. “Ihad yesterday summoned John Gloster to get a report from him on MunafPatel. According to his report Gloster said they had taken all the fitnesstests necessary and felt that he was totally fit. I think Rahul [Dravid] and theother members of the team management must also have been convinced ofMunaf’s fitness before taking him in the eleven. Certain injuries are suchthat the physio may believe that the player will recover any time. Whetherthe player has that same confidence or not is something else. The playersshould be honest with themselves, there’s no point blaming the physio.”In a more damning statement, Shah, speaking for the BCCI, laid the blamesquarely at Munaf. “Then we were surprised, when Dr Anant Joshiconducted tests, and Munaf complained about pain. Joshi then advised acouple of weeks’ rest,” he said. “Here I am a little concerned about theplayer himself. The player himself should be honest enough about his ownfitness. The last 5% has to come from the player. The doctor cannot sayhow much pain you are experiencing. Many players can play even with a biginjury but some players cannot play even with a small injury. The honestyof the player – at least in the case of Munaf Patel – is in question.”During the series Munaf’s fitness was being monitored and there was thehope from Gloster that Munaf would recover any day,” revealed Shah, who isbelieved to have been in favour of a move to send Munaf home along withIrfan Pathan. “That prolonged his stay and the board went with it. Butafter seeing his performance in the third Test the board is worried.”When asked if there were larger concerns, as Sachin Tendulkar too lookedoff colour in the third Test, and has subsequently pulled out of Mumbai’sfinal Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra, Shah was more careful.”That’s a small thing, the hamstring problem,” Shah said. “He will be fit soon.Tendukar is a responsible player.”Shah did not think it was fair to blame Munaf for the loss in the final Test and consequently the series. “You can’t say that any one player cost the match or the series,” he said, while adding,”even one player not putting in full effort will hamper the team’s chances of winning.”At the same time, Shah dismissed the suggestion that this situation hadarisen as a result of friction between himself and Dilip Vengsarkar, thechairman of selectors. “It was not friction. I said what the board feels,but we don’t interfere in the matter of team selection,” said Shah, whohad earlier said that it was the board’s prerogative to send a player backfrom a tour whenever they felt it appropriate. Vengsarkar had publiclydisagreed, saying a player would only be sent back in case of injury.”That is for Vengsarkar and the team management to decide. Whether to sendsomeone home or not is for the selection committee to decide. [Virender] Sehwag’sfailure was such that maybe he should have been replaced by somebodyelse.”Interestingly, Dr Joshi, the board’s consulting orthopaedic doctor, hasnot spared Munaf either after examining him. “Clinically he has fullrange of ankle motion, good joint stability, and no appreciable swelling.His ankle seems to be normal as compared to the non-injured side,” wroteDr. Joshi in his report to the board. “The X-ray did not reveal anysignificant pathology. Going through his medical record in South Africa Ifind that the treatment given to him has been top class. It appears thatMunaf continues to be apprehensive about the injury, more psychologicalthan physical. He needs to overcome this problem himself. I have suggestedrest and continued physiotherapy over the next 2-3 weeks before he can bere-evaluated and start playing domestic cricket.”Munaf has been ruled out of the first two one-day internationals against West Indies at home starting January 21.
