Salman Butt urges Harshal Patel to bowl quicker

image-l8j03y8hHarshal Patel (PC: Twitter)

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has offered advice to the struggling Harshal Patel. Ahead of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League, the right-arm medium bowler mastered the art of bowling slower deliveries. It proved as a life-changing decision for the seamer.

Plying his trade for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Harshal stunned the cricket fraternity with his death bowling. He continued his exploits in the 2022 edition as well and soon earned his maiden Indian call-up. The 31-year-old looked extremely good in his initial international games. However, Harshal invited a lot of criticism for his poor performance in the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Australia.

Making a comeback after an injury, the RCB star conceded 49 runs in his first T20I. He followed it with another poor performance by giving 32 runs in his two overs in the second game. His solitary wicket came in the final T20 International with a spell of 18 runs in two overs. With the T20I World Cup just a couple of days away, the fans are extremely concerned about the pacer’s form.  

Butt wants Harshal to make a change in his bowling

Butt believes that the pacer needs to bring pace in his bowling. Though Harshal is a deceptive bowler, he becomes an easy target for the opposition once they understand his hand movements. The former Pakistan skipper advised the Indian star to not be over-reliant on slower balls for a good international career.

Speaking on his YouTube Channel, Butt said:

“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."

Further, the veteran also offered his advice on Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He has also failed to live up to his reputation and is going through a lean patch. Butt did not come across as a fan of the Indian seamer as he believes that Bhuvneshwar can’t do well on the pitches that offer no lateral movements.

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