Harshal Patel shares throwback picture with Rahul Dravid; How it started vs how it’s going

Harshal Patel, who made his India debut against New Zealand in the recently concluded T20I series, took to photo-sharing platform Instagram to share two photos with Rahul Dravid. The first picture posted on social media is from Harshal Patel's teenage days back in 2004 when cricketer Rahul Dravid was an active cricketer and the second one was taken last week. "How it started vs how it’s going!![sic]," Harshal Patel captioned his Instagram post.

Harshal Patel's has been performing consistently over the last couple of years, but his stellar IPL 2021 performance that saw him finish as the highest wicket-taker with 32 wickets finally got him to the national team. The player made his debut in India vs New Zealand 2nd T20I, replacing injured Mohammed Siraj and made an instant impact, giving away 25 runs while picking up wickets of Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips. For this performance, the player was awarded the Man of the Match, becoming only the eighth Indian to do so in their debut game. 

The player continued his good performances in India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I, first playing quick 11-ball 18 and picking up two wickets as India whitewashed New Zealand 3-0. As for Rahul Dravid, his first assignment began with his team registering a thumping series win. The focus now quickly shifts on the IND vs NZ Test match series that begins early tomorrow. 

IND vs NZ: Schedule and both team squads

1st Test: November 25-29 – Green Park, Kanpur – 9.30 am

2nd Test: December 3-7 – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai – 9.30 am

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Mitchell Santner, William Somerville, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (WK), Tom Latham (WK), Glenn Phillips, Kyle Jamieson, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner

India Test squad: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (replacement for KL Rahul), Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Virat Kohli (Available only for the 2nd Test, will lead the team)

(Image: @Harshalvp23/Instagram)