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Cricket PlayersHarshal Patel breaks silence on why RCB didn't retain him for IPL 2022, says 'haven’t heard from any franchises yet'
Harshal finished IPL 2021 with 32 wickets, which is the joint-highest for any bowler in a single season, joining Chennai Super Kings' Dwayne Bravo (2013) at the top of the elusive list, and the tally included a hat-trick as well
One of the biggest talking about about the retention of players by the various franchises ahead of the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was Harshal Patel, the purple cap winner of the 2021 season, who wasn't retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). RCB retained Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj ahead of the IPL auction.
Harshal finished IPL 2021 with 32 wickets, which is the joint-highest for any bowler in a single season, joining Chennai Super Kings' Dwayne Bravo (2013) at the top of the elusive list, and the tally included a hat-trick as well. Yet he wasn't retained by the franchise, but in a recent interview with Crictracker, the pacer revealed the reason that was explained to him by RCB's Director of Cricket, Mike Hesson.
“When I was not retained, Mike Hesson called me and said, that it was mainly purse management,” Harshal said.
The medium pacer further added that he would love to come back to RCB, recalling the 2021 season, that helped him break into the Indian T20I side. However, he added that he is yet to hear from any of the franchises.
“They would obviously love to have me back in the team and I too would obviously would love to go back and play for the team because RCB and this season (2021) changed my entire career and my entire life. However, in terms of auction, I haven’t heard from any franchises yet,” he added.
Harshal also talked about his experience of playing with two of great players of modern-era cricket - Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. He admitted that he was never star-struck by their presence.
It’s pretty normal to be honest. I don’t get star-struck. Even I remember my first year in IPL, I was never star-struck. I just admire them for what they bring onto the field, the kind of people they are, the level of skill they have and their ability to stand up in pressure situation and say: “I am going to bring the team out of this difficult situation.” That’s what I have learnt from those two guys.
