"Faf du Plessis is a potential candidate" — Harshal Patel shares his two cents on who should be RCB skipper for IPL 2022
Harshal Patel was one of the big buys for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the IPL 2022 Auction. The Haryana seamer had a breakout season for the side last season, picking up 32 wickets and finishing with the Purple Cap.
Ahead of the new season, he was involved in a massive bidding war with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) before Bangalore bought him back for ₹10.75 Cr. The paddle battle started when Patel entered the auction at a base price of ₹2 Cr.
Patel was already on the radar of multiple franchises but was eventually reunited with Bangalore. Speaking to the analyst panel on Star Sports, he also shared his two cents when asked if he had any idea who the captain would be.
"I don't know, I haven't had any chat with anybody at the RCB management, but Faf is, in my opinion. He has led South Africa very well and is a potential candidate, but I certainly can't say," he remarked.
Harshal Patel talks about the discussion during IPL 2022 Retention
"They basically told me that if we retain you, we'll have to pay you 6 crore and 9 crore will be deducted out of our purse because you will be the fourth player," Harshal Patel explained.
"So we don't want to do that and we'd rather that you earn that money in the auction and we'll try our best to get you back. So that was the only communication"
There was also a sense of gratitude that could be sensed from the seamer's tone."When they traded me back from Delhi, they gave me an opportunity and responsibility that I was not expecting to fulfill. They backed me, saw something in me and that meant a lot. The price tag is obviously huge but at the same time, the amount of faith they've shown in me means a lot."
Only time will tell how Harshal fares at RCB.