"I hope the people in Gujarat support me" - Harshal Patel on RCB's upcoming contest against GT in IPL 2022 

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bowler Harshal Patel hopes people from his native state of Gujarat will support him instead of Gujarat Titans (GT) when the two teams lock horns at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday.

Hailing from Sanand, Gujarat, the right-arm pacer spent his formative years in the state before breaking into the Haryana domestic team in 2011. He made his IPL debut for RCB a year later and has gone on to represent the franchise across two separate stints.

This is only the third IPL season where the state of Gujarat have had a franchise in the competition. The Suresh Raina-led Gujarat Lions made their exit following the return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from their two-year ban in 2018.

Speaking ahead of the contest against GT, Harshal Patel told RCB Social Media:

"I hope the people in Gujarat support me, but whatever the fans are saying, at the end of the day, we want to win the game for the team."

The Hardik Pandya-led GT are on a formidable run at the moment and are atop the points table with 14 points. In stark contrast, RCB have looked out of sorts, with heavy defeats in their last two games. The last time RCB played at the Brabourne, they were skittled out for 68 by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Terming GT as a formidbale opposition, Patel said:

"GT are a great opposition and they are all in good form. It's one thing to have great names on your team, but it's one thing to have them perform like that. It's a great challenge for all of us, and we will have particular plans against each and every one of them, and we'll try to execute them to the best of our abilities."

This marks the first meeting between RCB and GT in the competition.

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"Heat does play on your mind because you have to prepare for it" - Harshal Patel

RCB will compete in their first afternoon game of the tournament on Saturday. The three-time finalists will play one more afternoon game against SRH.

Regarding the challenges of playing afternoon games, Patel said:

"Heat does play on your mind because you have to prepare for it. You have to prepare your body to take this heat and make sure that the intensity does not drop because of it. At the end of the day, whatever is thrown at us, we have to take it as a challenge and try to do the best we can."

Currently, several states, including Maharahstra, where the tournament is being staged, are in the midst of peak summer. Temperatures of up to 40 degree celcius have been recorded in the coastal city of Mumbai, making for challenging playing conditions.