Harshal Patel says the hardest job in T20 cricket is no longer bowling at the death. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo on 10 October 2026, the two-time IPL Purple Cap winner said that challenge has moved to the powerplay. In his words, death bowling is still hard, just not as hard as bowling in the first six overs.
At 35, he is rebuilding his game around the new ball. He starts with Gujarat’s Ranji Trophy campaign, where he wants to play a full red-ball season for the first time since 2019-20.
The numbers back him. What they do not show is why the weapons that win the last four overs lose their bite at the start of an innings.
“The reason I wanted to become a death bowler was that that’s where the action was. Right now, the action is in the powerplay. You could choose to hide in a corner, or you could stand in the middle of the battle and say, ‘fire away.’”
Harshal Patel, interview with ESPNcricinfo, 10 October 2026
“Bowling at the death was probably the toughest job in T20 cricket then, but now that has shifted towards the powerplay” 🗣️ Harshal Patel
Read the full interview by Shashank Kishore here: https://t.co/Rud79MiINv https://t.co/Vd0D5JS0Wb
— Cricinfo (@cricinfo) October 11, 2026
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At the death, a bowler knows exactly what he has to do. Five fielders guard the rope, the ball has lost its hardness, and the batter is forced to hit. A wide yorker or a dipping slower ball has a clear target, and a mistimed shot usually finds a fielder.
In the powerplay, only two fielders are out and the hard ball comes onto the bat. Openers now walk out planning to hit the first ball, and pace off a new ball still flies if they read it. One loose over goes for 20 with nobody on the rope to stop it, so the margin for error that death bowlers live on is not there.
Why Harshal Patel’s Powerplay Switch Makes Sense
The numbers show how fast the opening overs have changed. Here are IPL powerplay run rates, from CricViz figures reported by Gulf News:
| Season | Powerplay run rate |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 7.71 |
| 2021 | 7.71 |
| 2022 | 7.82 |
| 2023 | 8.43 |
| 2024 | 9.49 |
| 2025 | 9.61 |
| 2026 | 10.47 |
IPL 2026 was the first season where powerplay scoring went past 10 runs an over. Teams have added almost three runs an over in that phase since 2021.
Harshal’s problem is that he has rarely bowled there. Every captain he spoke to saw him as more valuable in the second half of an innings. He admits his powerplay skill faded because he went so long without bowling those overs under pressure.
That death role built his career. He was a base-price pick in almost every IPL auction from 2012 to 2019. Then he won the Purple Cap in 2021 and 2024, and went for INR 10.75 crore in 2022.
The fix starts with red-ball cricket. Harshal believes a season with the new ball in hand will prepare him to bowl up front in white-ball cricket.
His last full red-ball season was 2019-20, when he took 52 wickets for Haryana. After Gujarat’s four league games, he moves straight into the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
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