Harshal Patel has only got better every year: Gavaskar

Since his move to Royal Challengers Bangalore, via trade, Haryana’s skipper Harshal Patel’s life has seen a dramatic rise. In the last 12 months, the all-rounder has gone from being part of the RCB squad to making his debut for the star-studded Indian team. 

It was during the 2021 IPL, where the right-arm bowler picked up 32 wickets, equaling Dwayne Bravo’s record for most wickets in an IPL season. During the first T20I, India’s legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar heaped praises on the all-rounder, stating that the 31-year-old has reinvented himself. 

"Look he deserves every penny, every rupee that he’s earned at the auction. He put in a fabulous performance last year. And the best part about Harshal Patel is how he has reinvented himself,” Gavaskar said to Star Sports. 

“Earlier, he was a bowler batters were looking to face because he hardly had any change of pace. He was being taken for a lot of runs. He is learning from it, he has improved from that. Now, he is the bowler that batters do not want to face because they don’t know what he is going to bowl,” he added. 

RCB warded off the likes of Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad to pick the pacer for Rs 10.75 crore. Gavaskar opined that the variations that Harshal possesses has made him a top commodity, and insisted that the all-rounder has only gotten better. 

“He has got a very good yorker. He has got a slower bouncer. He has got a delivery that skids along quite nicely so he has got the works and he knows when to use it because of the experience he has had playing in the IPL for the last few years. He has only got better every year,” added Gavaskar.

On Wednesday, in the first T20I against West Indies, Harshal finished with figures of 2/37, dismissing two of Windies dangerous batters – Nicholas Pooran and Odean Smith.