Harshal Patel

A right arm seamer, Harshal Patel burst into the scene when he made his debut for Haryana in the Ranji trophy in 2011. He had been a part of the Indian Under-19 World Cup squad for the 2012 World Cup in New Zealand. His outswinger proved a lethal weapon in the 2011 Ranji Trophy, taking 8/40 to knock out Karnataka in the quarter finals and 8/34 in the semi finals against Rajasthan.

Patel played wrecker in chief for Haryana in the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy, taking 5/79 in the match against Karnataka, taking the breakthrough wickets of opener Lokesh Rahul and the dangerous CM Gautham in December 2012. He formed an able pace trio with Zaheer Khan and Vinay Kumar in the 2012 IPL, striking with crucial wickets. He showed improvement as a bat in the 2012-13 Ranji season, helping Haryana win a game against J&K by scoring 69* when they batted.

RCB Highlights

RCB vs MI,Mumbai,2012
Vinay and Zaheer had already applied the pressure with tight opening spells but hadn’t been able to dislodge Sachin Tendulkar. Harshal Patel came in and immediately took him by surprise with a shorter delivery, catching the top edge that ballooned up to silence a boisterous Wankhede crowd. He returned to remove Ambati Rayadu in the 13th over, killing off hopes of a fightback and finishing with figures of 2/24.