Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler Harshal Patel revealed on Tuesday that he was insulted for being ignored by the teams during the 2018 IPL auction, which prompted him to work on his batting to become an effective all-rounder. The 30-year-old cricketer was bought by the Delhi Capitals at his original price of Rs 20 lakh in 2018, but he did not have much opportunities to play. In an online press conference, Patel said, “A lot of people were not interested in the IPL of 2018 and it disappointed me. I consider it a shame because I want to be a match-winner and very demanding.”

He said, ‘After that I realized that if I worked on my batting and people started to believe in my batting, I could be an effective player. I have always done well in batting but have not paid much attention to it. In the first match against the Mumbai Indians in the IPL last Friday, Royal Challengers bowled spectacularly in their death overs against Bangalore, with Patel picking up five wickets to help his team win by two wickets. The fast bowler said he had to deal with performance-related concerns in the IPL as you could be dropped from the team after a poor performance in a match.

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Patel believes that in some of the matches of the current season, players with little experience of playing international cricket have performed well and the thinking of team management has changed. He said, ‘It depends on the management. I think most teams are starting to see what the bowler does during practice matches or practice and how he executes projects, regardless of his status, new players or international players.

Patel, who is from Delhi Capitals and has been in the Bangalore team, was given the responsibility of bowling in the death overs of skipper Virat Kohli in the first match. He said, ‘I think this is a good decision for me (leaving him to the Delhi Capitals) because I knew that the presence of Enriz Nortje in Kagiso Rabada and the Delhi Capitals would not give me as much opportunity as they come here. Being on a team that can show off my skills is good and I get the chance to bowl in a difficult situation. The Sunrisers will face Hyderabad in their second match on Wednesday.

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