Munaf Patel denies sending death threats to Vadodara cricket body chief Devendra Surti

Munaf Patel was once one of the fastest bowlers that India produced, however, in order to achieve results and consistent place in the Indian team, he sacrificed his pace for accuracy and variations. This led to him becoming a World Cup champion in 2011 and had an extended run in the late 2000s and early 2010 with the Men in Blue.

However, he played his last match for India in 2011 and since then he was rarely seen on the cricket field as his career came to an end due to piling up injuries and has been out of radar so far. However, recently, he was accused by Vadodara Cricket Body’s chief Devendra Surti of sending him death threats.

The Vadodara-based Cricket Hitrakshak Samiti (CHS) chief Surti filed a complaint with Navapura police station, where the police inspector RM Chauhan was quoted as saying, “We have received the application from Surti. However, he has not filed any police complaint and therefore no FIR has been lodged in the matter.”

Munaf rubbishes allegations against him

The former India fast bowler has rubbished the claims of Surti, who says he has been targeted as he is fighting the anti-corruption battles of CHS against Baroda Cricket Association and Munaf at present serves as the mentor for the senior teams under BCA. “I have been raising my voice against corruption in the cricket association and this is why I am being threatened. I want the police to know that if something happens to me and my family, then Munaf Patel should be held responsible,” Surti was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

Munaf, in turn, was quoted by Indian Express as saying, “My name has been dragged into the matter for no reason. I have only played cricket and would continue to do that throughout my life. He has issues with the selections, but I am a team mentor and have no role to play in selections. My name has been unnecessarily dragged into the matter and the allegations are completely baseless.”

Munaf Patel played 3 Tests, 70 ODIs and 3 T20Is for India since his debut in 2006, while his last match came in 2011. He retired from the sport last year. He claimed 35 Test wickets, 86 ODI wickets and 4 T20I scalps. He also played IPL for Rajasthan Royals, winning the tournament in 2008 with them and also played for Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Lions as well.