Former India player Sunil Gavaskar feels that Harshal Patel’s inclusion in the Indian squad for the New Zealand T20I series is a “great sign.” He also said that this indicates the board values performance despite thinking about the cricketer’s age.
Notably, Harshal Patel won the Purple Cap in the IPL 2021. His 32 wickets from just 15 games are the joint-most in a season in the tournament’s history as well. But, his best performance came at the age of 30 had created doubts about whether he could be considered as a long-term player. And, the veteran believes that Harshal Patel can replicate his IPL form to international cricket as well.
Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Today: “Look at his performances in the IPL, he deserves this India cap. He has been outstanding in the IPL. And don’t go by age because if 15 days ago he could get that many wickets, what’s to stop him from getting a similar number of wickets even in these matches or even next year? So he’s done well and has been rewarded for his efforts and we should cherish that. We should be saying, ‘don’t worry about your age, as long as you perform, you’ll get picked to play for India.’ That’s a great sign the selection committee has given.”
However, Harshal Patel was a net bowler in India’s T20 World Cup squad and currently, he has been playing in five Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 matches for Haryana, opening the batting and leading the bowling attack as well. So far, he has claimed eight wickets and scored 85 runs also.
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Moreover, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s selection to the team came under the scanner too as he has been out of form for quite a long time. He even went wicketless against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup campaign opener. However, Sunil Gavaskar believes that Bhuvneshwar should get another opportunity to make a comeback and his experience will be vital for India against New Zealand. The series will begin on November 17 in Jaipur.
“Well he was given one game and after that he wasn’t picked… Everybody failed in that game but only he was moved out of the team. And now he has been given an opportunity which is good because now he has a chance to show, ‘Look, what happened in that one game can happen to anybody. Now give me a chance against a good New Zealand team’… This is a team you can’t take lightly so it’s a good thing that somebody as experienced as Bhuvneshwar Kumar is in the squad,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.
The veteran also opined that young leg-spinner Rahul Chahar will be in doubt about his exclusion from India’s squad for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand. Notably, he was a part of India’s team for the T20 World Cup. He was chosen over the experienced Yuzvendra Chahal but got to play in only one match against Namibia. He bowled four overs, giving away 30 runs.
While speaking in an interview with Sports Today, Sunil Gavaskar opened up on this. Sunil Gavaskar said: “I am pretty certain that Rahul Chahar would be wondering what he has done that he’s not in this 16 that has been announced. He was good enough to be in the 15 for the World Cup. He got one opportunity in which he gave away 7.5 runs an over. So he will be certainly wondering what did he do wrong. I hope that somebody from the selection committee would tell him the reason [why] he’s out of this squad.”
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However, three new players have earned a maiden call-up in the Indian T20I squad, including the all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, who came in the team on the back of a stunning IPL. He had played only a handful of games and left his mark as well. And, the veteran believes that he can be useful in the lower order in Hardik Pandya’s absence and his bowling too can be helpful.
“Wouldn’t be a bad idea at all. Look, down the order [batting] at six or seven with his medium pace stuff, because you are talking about a four-over spell – if you can do that then you’ve got another option. I think for the last three-four years we have just been fixated on one option, to the extent that we probably didn’t deal with Vijay Shankar and Shivam Dube the way we should have. But, here, hopefully, Venkatesh Iyer will get more opportunities than these two guys got because that might give us the options. And once you have options and competitions then nobody takes his place in the team for granted,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.
