After Harshal Patel received the Purple cap in the previous season of IPL 2021 for taking 32 wickets in the tournament, there was no doubt his stocks were going to rise in IPL 2022 mega auction. As RCB decided not to retain him, Patel went down the auction hammer.
However, RCB was able to sign up the medium pacer for a whopping amount of INR 10.75 crores. But former Indian opener Virender Sehwag believes Patel’s price tag is low keeping his consistent performances in mind. Sehwag believes Patel should be getting 14-15 crores in the IPL.
Patel was once again at his lethal best as he returned with impressive figures of 1-25 in his quota of four overs against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator contest at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday.
Patel conceded only eight runs in his first two overs and then gave away eight runs in the 18th over he bowled at the death. Furthermore, he accounted for Marcus Stoinis, who could have taken the game away from RCB. The 31-year-old from Haryana conceded only nine runs in the final over to help his team win by 14 runs.
“We always talk about how (Rahul) Tewatia does justice to his INR 10 crore tag because he won matches for his side (Gujarat Titans). Harshal’s price tag is still quite low, the way he has bowled for Bangalore. He has saved matches for the side, so I think even the INR 10.75 price tag is less for him. He should be in the INR 14-15 crore category,” said Sehwag on Cricbuzz.
“He’s bowling in slog overs, he is getting the wickets and saving matches. Sometimes, he even sets the tone for the game when he bowls the initial overs, conceding lesser amount of runs and taking wickets. So, I think he also deserves to be in that bracket of category. Now, they have qualified for Qualifier 2, and maybe RCB can give him a bonus,” Sehwag further added.
Patel has scalped 19 wickets in 14 matches of Tata IPL 2022 he has played. The right-arm medium pacer has bowled with an average of 15.89 and a parsimonious economy rate of 7.56, which is brilliant as he bowls in the slog overs.
RCB will now face Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Friday.
