Sunil Gavaskar makes a big statement on Harshal Patel

With the 20-20 World Cup 2022 coming closer with each passing day, a lot of ex-cricketers have started making their squads. Currently, the India Cricket Team has completed the five-match T20I series against South Africa with both teams sharing the series. They will play next against Ireland where a lot of second-choice players will play. The same thing happened during the home series against the Proteas.

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Meanwhile, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has praised Harshal Patel and hailed him as the trump card for the upcoming showpiece event. Patel had bad games in the first two T20Is against the Green Brigade but came back strongly in the next two.

“He will be one of the trumps cards because you have Bhuvneshwar, Shami and Bumrah as well. Brilliant for a skipper to have someone like him to depend on, He can come in and bowl may be even in the powerplay where people are now going with change of pace. So yes he certainly should be part of the group,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

On the other hand, former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith echoed the views of the legend. Smith pointed out Patel's abilities to bowl in the death and mentioned how the latter put pressure on the South African team.

“He has been excellent. Nobody skills in the death overs with the slower balls...but I feel from game 3 he found his right length and picked up wickets and kept the pressure on the South Africans. He has all the skills as an all-rounder bowler and is a big asset to the team and handles pressure very well and is a clear thinker under pressure,” Smith said.

The next assignment for the Haryana player will India's T20I series against Ireland. The series will consist of two games after which he will play the three-match T20I series against England if gets selected.