'Who better to tell you about what’s going on than AB': Patel narrates how Kohli and de Villiers have made helped him

Harshal Patel picked up 17 wickets in 7 matches to hold the Purple Cap in this edition before it was suspended.

Harshal Patel was having an impressive Indian Premier League this year. After being on the fringes for several years, Harshal finally got his chance to shine in IPL 2021. Turning out for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Harshal managed to make a big impact as he was selected as RCB's main death bowler. And he did not disappoint as he picked up 17 wickets in 7 matches to hold the Purple Cap in this edition before it was suspended.

Virat Kohli and Harshal Patel during the match between the Chennai Super Kings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium. (ANI Photo/IPL Twitter)

Since coming over to RCB, Harshal has become a reformed player and has added several variations to his bowling. Harshal talked about how Kohli and AB de Villiers have given him the confidence to back his abilities and how they have helped him in his RCB career.

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"The moment I was traded, Virat sent me a message, “welcome back, you are going to play here”. That made a big impact in my confidence and I realised 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 Patel in an interview with Hindustan Times.

Harshal also talked about de Villiers and how the South African guides him with 'small pointers'.

"Who better to tell you about what’s going on than AB? He doesn’t talk a lot, he will let you do your own thing but if he finds you are out of depth or struggling, he will come up to chat. Before I come into bowl, he has probably seen seven or eight overs; he will give small pointers on what the wicket is doing, what the batters are trying to do, what are the deliveries that will work. It is always short and concise chat," Patel signed off.