'Mate, no way they are hitting this' - Harshal Patel reveals Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli were impressed with his bowling variations

Indian pacer Harshal Patel can be named as one of the few bowlers to improve his bowling skills over the last couple of years. Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL, the right-arm pacer has bowled some excellent spells and has deceived some world-class batters with his variations.

To note, Patel was the Purple cap holder during IPL 2022 as he scalped a total of 32 wickets in just 15 games. One of the most prominent reasons for Patel’s resurgence has been his variations, especially the slower balls. He has now revealed that apart from the opponent, his teammates have also found it tough to detect his variations during their net sessions. The likes of AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell have stated that it is impossible to detect the slower delivery coming out of his hands.

When batters like Virat, AB, and Maxwell cannot pick your variants, then who else can? Harshal Patel

Taking on the YouTube show ‘Breakfast with Champions’, Patel said, “AB, Virat, and Maxi have said that (it is impossible to catch his slower ball out of the hand). So I bowled a few slower balls to Maxi and he comes out of the nets and says, ‘mate, no way they are hitting this.’ When people like him, Virat, or AB say that you think, ‘if they are not seeing it out of the hand, who else can?’ Huge confidence booster.”

The 31-year-old also revealed that he got his education in T20 bowling from veteran Indian pacer  Zaheer Khan. “If I have to look at someone who legitimized slower ball, [it] was Zaheer Khan in the 2011 World Cup. The way he got people out with those knuckleballs was unbelievable to watch. I got my education in T20 bowling from him, ” Patel added.

Talking about Patel’s numbers in IPL, he has played in 70 matches in which he has scalped a total of 87 wickets at an excellent strike rate of 16.32. Patel also has one four and a five-wicket haul under his name in IPL. Meanwhile, his team will take on strong-looking Rajasthan Royals in their next group stage match on Tuesday.