Harshal Patel made his comeback after a side strain vs Australia picking 1/99 in 3 matches.
Salman Butt, former captain of Pakistan, thinks that Team India seamer Harshal Patel should employ both his faster and slower deliveries instead of being overly reliant on the latter.
Although the pacer has had success with his slower ball, Butt warned that if Patel doesn’t add more variations to his bowling, he might struggle on batter-friendly pitches.
Harshal, one of the best death-over bowlers India has, had a disastrous outing against Australia in the three-match T20I series. While taking only one wicket, in three games, he let up 99 runs at an economy of over 12.
“Harshal Patel is deceptive, but once the batter sees it from his hand, it is going to be tough for him. I don’t know how he is going to counter this issue in the upcoming matches. Being a fast bowler, he cannot be overly reliant on the slower ball. He is a good bowler and also bowls the full-pace ball well. He can be more successful if he uses his pace,” Butt said on his Youtube channel.
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The 31-year-old was picked ahead of veteran pacer Mohammad Shami for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022, but his shaky performances throughout the recent Australia T20I series have raised questions in front of the team management.
Butt also highlighted senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bowling woes. According to him, Kumar will find the going difficult on Australian pitches if there is no lateral movement on offer.
“Bhuvneshwar Kumar once again proved to be very costly. I don’t understand what India are trying to figure out. It’s going to be difficult for him on good batting pitches and when there’s no lateral movement on offer,” Butt said.
Kumar in the recently concluded series, conceded 91 runs in 2 games while taking just 1 wicket at an economy of 13.
(NEWS18 INPUTS)