Harshal Patel has become an indispensable part of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) setup with his economical bowling in slog overs. After winning the purple cap with a record display in the previous season, Harshal was roped in for a whopping Rs 10.75 crore by the Bangalore-based franchise. However, Harshal did not always have good days at the RCB camp. The 31-year-old recalled a time when he was told to go home mid-season by coach Daniel Vettori.
"I played 5 games in 2016 and then didn't play anything after that. 2017 again same situation. I was even sent home once. This used to happen a lot earlier because if you’re keeping a player, there's his hotel room, daily allowances, you've to take him to practice, book his flight tickets. I vividly remember what happened. Avinash Vaidya called me in the room and he said 'Dan (Vettori) (the former coach) wants to talk to you. And we were staying at Ritz-Carlton. So he called me to the breakfast area and told me 'We don't see you playing for at least 4-5 more games so we're sending you home. But we'll call you back. It was the epitome of rejection, that you aren't even in the team," Harshal recalled the harsh conversation on ‘Breakfast with Champions’ talk show.
However, with RCB out of the playoffs race, Harshal made one last attempt to get back in the side. He asked Vettori to give him a chance to prove himself which resulted in impressive 3/43 against Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils).
"Then I think after 4-5 games, RCB was knocked out, we were not going to qualify. So I messaged Vettori saying 'Give me a game'. That was the first time I actually sold myself to anyone. They called me for the last game and we were playing Delhi at Kotla. The first over I bowled went for some 14-15 runs and then the nerves settled. I said ‘Already been hit for 15 runs, how much worse can it get?'. Then I ended up picking three wickets and won the game for the team. I was Player of the Match in that game. And then next year was the 2018 auction," Harshal revealed.
In the ongoing season, Harshal has taken nine wickets from seven games at an average of 17.33. Also, he has maintained an economy rate of 7.42 which is impressive considering the stage of the game he gets to bowl.
