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I have dismissed Sachin and Kohli once, Dhoni twice: Promising Indian pacer next targets dream wicket of AB de Villiers
The 30-year-old Indian fast bowler's next target is the dream wicket of AB de Villiers.
The Indian Premier League has made dreams come true for numerous budding cricketers. Sharing space with the greats of the game, and squaring up against batsmen and bowlers they grew up idolising can be considered nothing less than a dream for youngsters. Remember the sight of a young Jasprit Bumrah clean bowling AB de Villiers and giving him a send-off? Little moments like these are what the IPL is made of.
Similarly, Royal Challengers fast bowler Harshal Patel has had his share of good memories in the IPL. This season, Harshal owned the Purple Cap, having picked up 17 wickets from seven matches – the most by a bowler in IPL 2021. Harshal, who played with Delhi Capitals for a couple of seasons – in 2019 and 2020 – returned to RCB for his second tenure with the franchise. The 30-year-old pacer wishes never to play against RCB, but of he does, he would fancy picking up the wicket many bowlers wish to take – AB de Villiers.
"I've already got my dream wickets. I had dismissed Sachin Tendulkar back in 2011. I have also taken the wicket of MS Dhoni twice and Kohli once. All these are my dream wickets. I hope I never play against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the future but if that happens, I would love to take the wicket of AB de Villiers," Patel told India TV.
Harshal was one of the reasons behind RCB's success this season, and yet he had a couple of off games. Against Chennai Super Kings, Harshal was at the receiving end of a bludgeoning innings from Ravindra Jadeja, who smashes the bowler for 37 runs in the final over of the innings. Still, Harshal did not lose his focus, highlighting Virat Kohli’s role in the same and how the RCB skipper takes pride in celebrating his teammates' success.
"I usually don't celebrate my wickets with so much passion. Virat covers it up. It's his passion. His involvement on the field and his energy are exceptional. In a team sport, if you enjoy your teammate's success, your side eventually plays as a cohesive unit," Harshal added.
"When I bowled a no-ball on my first ball against Mumbai Indians, Virat just told me to focus on the length. There was no other conversation. When there's too much noise, you just need simple feedback and all other things get blurred in the background."
