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Indian Premier League (IPL) has provided a much-needed platform for the youngsters in Indian cricket to showcase their potential and make much noise before even making a debut in the national squad. Besides the platform, IPL has also been an incredible tournament that has solved the financial restraints of many players in the domestic circuit and has given opportunities to players with outstanding performances taking home a reasonable sum.
As mega-auction are a few days ahead, the buzz over which player will draw clash of bidding is doing a lot of rounds. RCB's former bowling all-rounder Harshal Patel will be one such player who many franchises will closely monitor. Harshal was not retained by RCB despite donning a purple cap in the previous edition. While the RCB included Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, and Mohammed Siraj, Harshal's execution surprised many.
However, while speaking at the RCB podcast, Patel revealed an exciting aspect of himself and how too much money at a young age can badly influence the mind. He told that "if he had got ₹2-3 crore in his early 20s via the auction, he would have probably burnt it all due to bad habits at that time."
Patel jokingly added that being a Gujrati, his family would have never let him do the same, but "as an individual, I would have bad choices with that amount of money." Harshal is also hoping that in the upcoming mega-auction, the franchise will bid big for him, and being a mature person now, he knows what to do what that money instead of "lighting it on fire."
Harshal Patel debuted in IPL in 2010 as a draft pick by the Mumbai Indians for ₹8 lakh. The RCB later picked him up outside the auction in 2012. After six years with the RCB franchise, he joined Delhi Capitals at the 2018 auction for ₹20 lakh before being traded back to RCB in 2021. Harshal finished the last edition with 32-wickets from 15 matches at an average of 14.34. Due to his incredible performance in the T20 tournament, he was included in the national squad against New Zealand in T20Is. He is also named in the India squad for the West Indies T20I series, which will be played in Kolkata from February 16.