Harshal Patel is one of the most reliable bowlers in the final overs for RCB and whenever his captain has asked him to provide the crucial breakthroughs no matter when and where he needed, the medium-fast maverick obliged. Honing his skills to become sharper since the earlier half of the last decade, Harshal Patel has been a game-changer for all the right reasons.
Talking on the latest episode of the RCB Podcast Season 2, Harshal opened up on the phase where he started planning things better and packaging them in a much more shining wrapper that made him look like a crucial threat in the heart of the opposition’s batting unit.
Harshal said, “I learnt the packaging of my deliveries from Zaheer Khan in my first ever season with RCB in IPL. He basically taught me there are four kinds of deliveries: length balls, bouncers, slower ones and yorkers and how you package that is what will determine, how successful you are. Also, execution plays a big part. I always had that at the base. However, like I said, I kept practicing on and on, trial and error and now I have realized that there are certain options that work better for me.” He continued, “Not just talking about the certain options that work better for me, but there are also options that don’t work better for me. If I have completely exhausted my options, then I will choose the options that are low-percentage for me. Everyone in IPL and in international cricket knows, what I bowl and how I bowl. The trick however, lies in how I read the game, read what I am trying to do, or how I am trying to stay one step ahead of them.”
