I failed to realise my weakness and strengths: Harshal Patel

Haryana all-rounder Harshal Patel has had a rollercoaster ride when it comes to the Indian Premier League (IPL). After a sensational show in the 2019 Ranji Trophy season, when he picked up 52 wickets in 9 games and broke a 36-year-old Haryana record, Harshal Patel will have believed that a lot more success is in store.

However, the Haryana skipper had to exit IPL-12 early due to a hand fracture. Harshal Patel is now hoping for a better outcome if IPL-13 does take place later this year.

“I do realise that I was not very consistent at times. So if you look at the spell of 24 balls, I may have given a couple of loose balls here and there and that has hurt my economy. So when you look at only numbers it shows that I have been expensive,” Harshal Patel was quoted as saying for Indian Express.

“But I have also been able to get wickets at crucial stages and to put this in perspective, you will get to know that I have done reasonably well,” Harshal Patel added.

Harshal Patel has been part of the IPL for more than 9 years now but has played more than five games in just two seasons.

Harshal Patel has had ups and downs in IPL

The 29-year-old was part of Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2012, and in 2018 was roped in by Delhi Capitals. In his 43-match IPL career, he has taken 43 wickets.

“In these two seasons (2012 and 2015) my economy was fantastic. In 2012 it was 8.29 and in 2015 it was 7.48,” the Delhi Capitals all-rounder said.

Despite these impressive performances, Harshal Patel is still to get a call-up to the Indian team. Team India has eluded him. But Patel admits having no coach or mentor hasn’t helped.

“I failed to realise what my weaknesses and strengths are. I hopped from one idea to another to improve my game. I never stuck to one thing,” Harshal Patel said.

“That’s a lapse which hit my game. I lacked that consistency in thoughts and it took me a while to learn that,” he added.

Patel led the Haryana team for the first time in the 2019-20 season and broke left-arm spinner Rajinder Goel’s 36-year-old record for the most wickets in a season for the team. The all-rounder was also the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20.

The Ahmedabad-born cricketer also made 292 runs at an average of 22.46, batting mostly at No. 8 in the Ranji season. In T20s, Patel opened and scored 374 runs at an average of 31.17 in 12 games in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

It remains to be seen if IPL-13 will enable Harshal Patel to make the jump into the Indian team.