Harshal Patel was handed his debut cap on Friday ahead of the start of the 2nd T20 international between India and New Zealand.
Harshal Patel was handed his debut cap on Friday ahead of the start of the 2nd T20 international between India and New Zealand. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) medium pacer, who finished IPL 2021 as the highest wicket-taker with 32 scalps, has been included in the playing XI for the match in place of Mohammed Siraj. Rohit Sharma informed at the toss that Siraj had injured himself while bowling in the 1st T20I in Jaipur. Siraj had picked up a wicket but had leaked runs in the first match.
Harshal was handed his debut cap by former India paceman Ajit Agarkar, in the presence of coach Rahul Dravid and the rest of the squad. Harshal is the 6th oldest T20I debutant for India, and will be playing his first match at the age 30 years and 361 days.
BCCI posted a video of the cap ceremony on it’s Twitter handle.
Harshal had a dream season with RCB as his 32-wicket haul is the tied-best ever in a single IPL season. He matched the long-standing record of Chennai Super Kings’ Dwayne Bravo. The medium pacer, who can use the long handle lower down the order, has been a regular feature in the IPL for several years, having made his debut in the 2012 season.
Harshal made a splash this season by picking up a hat-trick and several big hauls which helped RCB to qualify for the play-offs for the second season on the bounce. His death overs bowling was brilliant and it will be interesting to see if he does the same for Team India.