Royal Challengers Bangalore's Harshal Patel on Wednesday reached a major landmark when he broke Jasprit Bumrah's record for most wickets by an Indian bowler in a single edition of the Indian Premier League. Harshal reached the milestone with his three wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad in what ended up being a four-run defeat for RCB. The 30-year-old bowler dismissed Kane Williamson, Wriddhiman Saha and Jason Holder to go past Bumrah's previous record of 27 wickets in the 2020 edition and take his own tally to 29 wickets for this campaign.
Last week, Harshal had broken the record for the most wickets by an uncapped bowler in a single IPL season.
Harshal, who plays his domestic cricket for Haryana, is primed to finish the season with the Purple Cap. He currently has seven wickets more than Avesh Khan (22 wickets) in second.
His prolific performances this season have seen many in India call for his inclusion in the India squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, set to be held in the UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14.
Harshal didn't make the cut into the 15-member squad India had named last month, nor among the three players named in reserves.
However, with changes allowed in the final squad until October 10, Harshal's hopes of making the India squad aren't over yet.
"If the pitches at the #ICCT20WorldCup2021 are going to be similar to these, picking Harshal Patel might not be a bad idea. (Changes allowed till October 10!). A horses-for-courses practical selection. What do you guys think?" cricket commentator and pundit Harsha Bhogle tweeted on Wednesday.
Irrespective of whether he makes it to the T20 World Cup squad or not, Harshal will hope to play a big part for RCB as they look to win their maiden IPL title this month.