Harshal Patel, worth more than the pay cheque

Harshal Patel was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auctions but was bought again on day one itself.

Big-ticket signing

In fact, Harshal Patel proved to be the most expensive all rounder sold on day one of the IPL 2022 mega auctions as Bangalore paid a whopping Rs 10.75 crore for him.

It can be confusing for the fans as to why they let him go in the first place when they had to pay much more for him then what they had originally picked him up for. Same was the case with WaninduHasaranga as well.

An integral part of RCB

Be that as it may, it only goes to show how valuable Harshal Patel is for Royal Challengers Bangalore and how integral a part he is of the team's tactics going forward.

He bowls all the tough overs and does a tremendous job as he not only picks up wickets but keeps the runs dry which is more crucial at the fag end the innings.

In almost every match, it is Harshal Patel's overs which do not allow the opposition to score those 10-15 runs extra which proves to be the margin of victory in T20 cricket more often than not.

Worth a lot more than his pay cheque

In essence, Harshal is worth a lot more than his pay cheque of Rs 10.75 crore especially when you see guys like Ishan Kishan getting picked for over 15 crores and not being able to perform to their optimum capacity.

Patel has been in and around the IPL since 2012 but only came to his own in 2021 when he was traded to Royal Challengers Bangalore by Delhi Capitals at the behest of RCB and captain Virat Kohli.

Rising to the occasion

He exceeded expectations and how, picking up 32 wickets - the joint highest in one IPL season in the league's history - from just 15 matches at a sensational average of 14.34 and an economy rate of 8.14.

What went in his favour was that the second half of the IPL was played in the UAE which has sluggish surfaces which were tailor made for his bowling and Patel made full use of it.

He backed up his performances in IPL 2022 as well, picking up 19 wickets at 21.58 and an economy rate of 7.66.