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“I didn’t want to be that person”, Harshal Patel reveals an important discussion with Rahul Dravid during the T20 World Cup

Harshal Patel explains his strategies for the Chinnaswamy in details

RCB will be taking the yard for the first time in the IPL 2023 as they face the might of Mumbai Indians in the season opener. Harshal Patel has been one of their vital cogs of late and would be hoping to replicate his earlier success in the side. He can get those crucial breakthroughs whenever his team needs him to and his eye for the scintillating figures have always been a plus point for the Challengers.

In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, Harshal talked about missing out an opportunity to feature in the T20 World Cup, stating, “It took me about a week to be okay with the fact that I might not play a single game in the tournament. It was sort of hard to digest. You are in the middle of a very important tournament and you are still hoping you might get a game. [For the] first three-four days, there’s a bit of disbelief and you are thinking of a number of things which are out of your control. The first human reaction is: how could this happen?”

Here is what Harshal Patel said about his omission from the T20 World Cup

He further added, “But as your rational self takes over, you realise this is outside your control. I can’t do anything about selection. All I can do is keep pushing my case, and if I still don’t play a single game after that, then I have to be okay with the fact and do whatever I can to contribute in the team. So I picked up the bat, started working on a few things with Vikram Rathour [India’s batting coach]. It became a little easier as time went on.”

Shedding some light about his chat with Dravid after missing out games in the World Cup, Harshal said, “I had a chat with him after the second game. He said [not selecting me] was a tactical move. He said you were in contention almost till the day of the first game [against Pakistan] and then we decided to go with [Mohammed] Shami.”

He also said, “The coach and the captain’s job is to pick the best possible XI. I may or may not agree with it, but I have to accept it. I absolutely hate people who don’t get picked and then sit on the sidelines and sulk. I didn’t want to be that person, so I just kept saying to myself: “Keep thinking about how you can add value and try and do that, as hard as it might be.”

Harshal Patel is excited to be back at the Chinnaswamy

He also shed some light about bowling in front of a packed house at the Chinnaswamy, adding, “I will try to be as aggressive as I can, because the only way you can stop runs is by getting batters out. So more deliveries to force errors. The other thing is bluffing. It’s going to play a huge part, especially when you are playing in high-scoring venues: how you use it and when you use it is important. You can’t always bowl to your field. If you do that, it’s not very difficult to clear a 63-metre boundary on a flat wicket with the white Kookaburra.”

Defining the technique of bluff, he added, “You set a field for a wide yorker and the moment the batter moves to reach for the ball, you bowl at the heel. Or you get your third man or fine leg up and bowl a couple of yorkers and then a bouncer, which is something batters don’t usually expect.”

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