Harshal Patel was one of the star performers for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021 before BCCI halted the tournament. A couple of bio-bubble breaches that resulted in players and support staffs attracting the deadly virus compelled the organisers to postpone the competition. Harshal recently opened up on playing under RCB skipper Virat Kohli.
Incidentally, Harshal was traded from Delhi Capitals along with Daniel Sams ahead of IPL 2021. And the fast bowler from Haryana hit the right chords in the first game of the tournament against defending champions Mumbai Indians. He picked a five-wicket haul as Royal Challengers Bangalore began their campaign with a win.
Virat Kohli gives the space to do your things – Harshal Patel
Since then, he was scintillating with the ball despite going for runs on one or two occasions. In the seven games he played, he had 17 wickets at an average of 15.11. It was skipper Virat Kohli’s confidence in the pacer that kept him moving in crucial situations during the game. In the latest turn of events, Patel opened on what was it like to play under Kohli.
“The moment I was traded, Virat sent me a message, “welcome back, you are going to play here”. That made a big impact on my confidence and I realized this is a team where I can finally showcase all my skills. He gives you the space to do your thing. Even if you don’t execute at times he understands better than anybody that on a batter’s day, if they get hold of a bowler, you are going to go for runs.
“Whenever we are unable to execute, or we stray from our plans, when we sit for the review the only talk is about what do we do to stay on the path, how do we stay in the mindset to execute more often than not. We don’t let any other noise come into that environment,” said Harshal Patel as quoted by the Hindustan Times.