Harshal Patel highlights the various weapons in his arsenal ahead of the T20 World Cup

With Jasprit Bumrah out of the equation for the T20 World Cup, there are only a few choices left for the Indian management to plug the death overs gap, and Harshal Patel remains the team's major go-to bowler during the crucial phase.

As the showpiece event comes closer than ever, Harshal Patel spoke at length about his strategy in Australia and how he plans to execute them. Talking to ESPNCricinfo about his variations, Harshal said, “I have two. Both are off-cutters. The difference is whether I want to use the pitch, whether the pitch allows me natural variation, or not. If I don't want to use the pitch, then I try and bowl it from the front of the hand because it allows me that topspin. So it works on better pitches with better bounce, where even if you fail to deceive the batter in the air, sometimes what happens is, it sort of just kicks enough on you [as a batter] and that doesn't allow you to get timing and trajectory in the shot - it goes higher rather than flatter.”

We are all aware of how Harshal’s slower balls have created havoc that also made him the highest wicket-taker of the 2021 IPL. He also shed some light on the various slow balls that he has in his arsenal, but also added a disclaimer that these deliveries won’t be making any sense if he is bowling them to batters who already know his strength, for instance, Virat.

He said, “To Virat, for sure, because he is not someone who's going to muscle you. These slower deliveries are more effective when people are trying to muscle you. For someone like Virat, whenever I've played against him, he steps out and makes it a full toss and plays it through midwicket.”

Harshal also highlighted the difference in the impact of the slower balls, relating them to the approach of the batter. He concluded by saying, “If he gets good bat on the ball, he is going to get a boundary between long-on and midwicket or he is going to get a double. And when someone plays that delivery like that, you have to adapt. But when someone is going deep in the crease and just trying to slog you over long-on or deep midwicket or down the ground, that's where the slower ball becomes much more effective.”