Not Glenn Maxwell or KL Rahul: Gautam Gambhir names his player of the tournament for IPL 2021
Gautam Gambhir names his player of the tournament.
The IPL 2021 edition is nearing its conclusion with only two games left. There have been various match-winners for the eight franchises in the ongoing season whereas several underrated and uncapped players have also made a mark, in the presence of some big-ticket players.
On the other hand, many marquee players also returned back to form in the 14th edition of the tournament, with the second and final leg being held in the UAE. From KL Rahul, Glenn Maxwell, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, etc., many players have been top-performers and super consistent this season.
Thus, the former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir named his player of the tournament in IPL 14. Gambhir picked Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB)pacer Harshal Patel as his player of the ongoing edition, who ended the season with as many as 32 wickets.
In a chat withESPNcricinfo, Gambhir said,"Look at Harshal Patel today; he bowled the fifth over which was probably the toughest after Garton went for 15-20 in the fourth over... He bowled the fifth over, and got the wicket. He bowled in the death, and got wickets. So he's done probably the toughest thing that RCB were expecting him to do, and he came out with flying colours. Irrespective of how many runs and wickets players will get, he's the player of the tournament for me already."
"It's unfortunate. He deserved to play in the final. He's been the standout performer for them... The way he has carried on the burden of death bowling for RCB, which has been a concern for so many years... he's literally handled that pressure single-handedly. Hats off to him, and he's had a fabulous, fabulous IPL," the left-hander further stated.
For the unversed, Harshal-starrer RCB bowed out of the current edition after losing the Eliminator to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by four wickets, with two balls to spare on Monday (October 11). The 30-year-old equalled Dwayne Bravo's record of most wickets in a single season (32) before Bengaluru's run came to an end on Monday.