A Small Tip From Zaheer Khan Made A Massive Difference In My Consistency And Changed Me As A Bowler– Harshal Patel

Indian speedster Harshal Patel has revealed that a small piece of advice from former Indian left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan changed him as a bowler and made an enormous difference in his consistency.

Harshal Patel received his India debut cap in the recently concluded three-match T20I series against New Zealand. Notably, Harshal got his India call-up after a sensational run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 where he bagged 32 wickets in just 15 games for RCB.

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Speaking to The Indian Express Harshal said that when he was in Delhi Capitals (DC) he got a chance to talk with Zaheer Khan during the game against Mumbai Indians (MI) and he spoke to him about his problems. Harshal asserted:

“When I was with DC and we were playing MI, I got a chance to speak with Zaheer Bhai. I have this massive problem of my deliveries drifting down the leg stump, and I spoke to him about it. He spotted an issue with my release angle. With my angle, if I pitch the ball on the off-stump, it will automatically drift to the leg stump.”

Harshal Patel further added:

“The release angle should target the sixth or seventh stump line and then the ball will hit the off stump, he advised me. A small tip made a massive difference in my consistency and changed me as a bowler.”

RCB Management Trading Me Back And Giving Me This Role Changed My Life Completely – Harshal Patel

The 31-year-old pacer was asked why his variations have proved so lethal, to which he replied:

“My arm-speed should be faster than my normal deliveries and then the second thing is to put as much revolution on the ball as possible. My slower ball are my efforts ball.”

Harshal revealed that former RCB skipper Virat Kohli and legendary Proteas batsman AB de Villiers were not able to see slower ones coming out of his hand. He stated:

“Someone like Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, and Glen Maxwell, have told me that they don’t see my slower ones coming out of my hand. That gives me enough confidence that if these people are not able to read it then most of the other batters won’t be able to read it.”

Harshal Patel further explained how RCB showing trust in him and giving him the role of death-overs specialist changed his life completely. He elaborated:

“RCB management trading me back and giving me this role changed my life completely. There are two or three career-defining instances for me. The first was when I moved to Haryana, the second was the 2018 IPL auction, and then RCB entrusted me with bowling in the death overs. To be honest, when the RCB management decided to give me the role of bowling in the death overs. I was a bit surprised but they had more faith in my ability than I had at that time.”

Meanwhile, even after Harshal’s exceptional performance, he has not been retained by RCB ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 auction.

Also Read: IND vs NZ 2021: He Didn’t Seek My Council, I Imposed Myself On Him – Sunil Gavaskar On The Advice He Gave To Mayank Agarwal

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