Fast bowler Harshal Patel will represent Gujarat in the 2025-26 Indian domestic season, ending a 14-year association with Haryana. The 34-year-old, born and raised in Ahmedabad, has completed the paperwork and is expected at Gujarat’s pre-season camp, which begins later this month with a tri-series involving Baroda and Saurashtra.
The decision is as much personal as professional. “It was getting difficult for me to be away from the family for long periods of time,” he said. “So I wanted to come back and see if I could finish my career here. Glad I got an opportunity to do that.”
Patel’s journey has come full circle. He debuted for Gujarat in List A cricket back in 2008-09 after a productive under-19 campaign, but moved to Haryana in 2010 when opportunities dried up. The switch proved decisive: he made his first-class debut a year later, collected 246 wickets in 74 matches at 24.02, and became a white-ball spearhead during Haryana’s rise, which culminated in their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2023-24.
“Right from 2010-11 since my Under-19 days, almost the entirety of my professional career has been with Haryana, I owe a lot to them,” Patel reflected. “If that move to Haryana as an 18-year-old hadn’t worked out for me I would have probably moved to the USA and not played cricket in India.”
He still splits time between the United States, where extended family live, and Ahmedabad, but wants to be closer to his wife and young child during the domestic schedule. An approach from another state side came and went once Gujarat confirmed their interest. “I first asked Anil Patel [secretary, Gujarat Cricket Association] and he was gracious enough to say, ‘this is your home, welcome back.’ Having come back, I’m open to play everything and anything that the team wants me to play.”
While Patel’s reputation rests on white-ball nous—his slower-ball variations made him the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2021—he is not closing the door on red-ball cricket. “While my specialisation will remain white-ball, I’m only more than happy to take any opportunities that come my way with red-ball cricket.”
That willingness is backed by confidence in his conditioning. “My body allows me to bowl 20 overs in a day over two months or however long the Ranji Trophy season is; it doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I love the grind. The goal has always been to play the best cricket that I can play for as long as I can irrespective of the format.”
Patel last played for India in January 2023 and concedes an international recall is unlikely to occupy his thoughts this season. Instead, the immediate aim is to settle into a Gujarat side in transition: the state reached the Ranji semi-finals in 2024-25 but lacked a death-overs specialist in white-ball cricket. His presence should address that gap and add depth to a promising pace unit led by left-armer Arzan Nagwaswalla.
Former India quick and current Gujarat bowling consultant Lakshmipathy Balaji expects Patel’s influence to go beyond wickets. “He brings an understanding of pressure situations that younger bowlers can learn from. Gujarat’s plans at the back end of limited-overs matches will be sharper with him around.”
Patel accepts that expectation. “Experience doesn’t guarantee success,” he said during an informal chat after signing. “It just gives you a better idea of what might work when things get tight.”
For Gujarat, the move reunites a local lad with his first team; for Patel, it is a chance to prolong a career built on adaptability, while staying close to the people who matter most. The next chapter begins in a few weeks, back where it all started.
