Look At Harshal Patel's Performances In The IPL, He Deserves The India Cap - Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was all praise for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pace bowler, Harshal Patel, after the latter received his maiden call-up to the national team on Tuesday.

Ahead of their T20I series against New Zealand, the selectors announced a 16-man squad led by Rohit Sharma. His opening partner, KL Rahul, has been named as the vice-captain. In addition, Avesh Khan, Venkatesh Iyer, and Harshal were added to the Indian team in the absence of a couple of senior pacers.

“Look at his performances in the IPL, he deserves this India cap. He has been outstanding in the IPL. And don’t go by age because if 15 days ago he could get that many wickets, what’s to stop him from getting a similar number of wickets even in these matches or even next year?

“So he’s done well and has been rewarded for his efforts, and we should cherish that. We should be saying, ‘don’t worry about your age. As long as you perform, you’ll get picked to play for India.’ That’s a great sign the selection committee has given,” talking about the selection of Harshal, Gavaskar said.

Harshal won the Purple Cap in the IPL 2021 season, scalping a record-equaling 32 wickets in the league for RCB. He has continued his good form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), picking up eight wickets in five games.

Sunil Gavaskar happy with giving Bhuvneshwar Kumar a longer rope

Senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was named in the squad despite poor performances of late. After the home T20I series against England, he has been inconsistent and expensive in white-ball cricket, but the selectors have decided to give him a long rope which Sunil Gavaskar appreciated.

“Well, he was given one game, and after that, he wasn’t picked… Everybody failed in that game, but only he was moved out of the team. And now he has been given an opportunity which is good because now he has a chance to show, ‘Look, what happened in that one game can happen to anybody.

“Now give me a chance against a good New Zealand team’… This is a team you can’t take lightly, so it’s a good thing that somebody, as experienced as Bhuvneshwar Kumar, is in the squad,” Gavaskar mentioned.

India will play three T20Is against New Zealand at home before moving on to play two Tests which will be part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 cycle.

Also, Read – Sanju Samson Takes A Sly Dig At Selectors After Being Left Out Of India’s T20I Squad For New Zealand Series