“That’s how much it takes out of my body” - Harshal Patel explains his grunt while bowling slower balls

Team India pacer Harshal Patel has stated that his grunt while bowling slower balls is genuine and not an act of deception. He explained that bowling slower deliveries takes a lot more out of him compared to yorkers.

The 31-year-old pacer rose to prominence during IPL 2021. He won the Purple Cap by claiming 32 wickets in 15 matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). During the edition, he made a massive impact with his slower balls, foxing a number of big names.

Subsequently, Harshal went on to make his T20I debut for India in November 2021. While his performances have been mixed, the pacer’s slower balls have proved quite effective at the international level as well. One of the most noticeable features of his slower ones is the grunt that follows the effort ball.

In an interview with ESPNcricinfo’s The Cricket Monthly, he opened up about the same and explained:

“Actually, for some people it is part of the deception. For me, it is a genuine grunt, because it is an effort ball. So if I'm bowling six yorkers and I'm bowling six slower balls, I'm expending more energy on the six slower balls, so that's how much it takes out of my body.”

Harshal added that his high arm speed also has a role to play in the grunt coming out. The pacer elaborated:

“When you have a very high arm speed, your finish and your follow-through is also going to be quicker because all that energy has to go somewhere, right? It has to break somewhere. If you slow down my videos of bowling a slower ball and a normal delivery, you will actually see the difference - my finish will be much more energetic with the slower ball.”

Since returning from injury, Harshal has been having a tough time with the ball. He was expensive in the warm-up match against Western Australia XI as well on Monday, October 10, conceding 49 runs in his four overs.

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“I try and hold the ball as loosely as I can”- Harshal Patel on keeping arm speed normal

One of the challenges of bowling the slower ball is to try and ensure that the arm speed remains the same as other deliveries. On how he manages to pull it off, Harshal revealed:

“I try and hold the ball as loosely as I can - almost in my palm, even though I have my fingers over it. If you try to snatch it out of my hand, you'll be able to do it without any effort at all. And you make sure that you bowl it as quickly as you can.

The pacer also added that he doesn’t depend too much on the wicket for assistance, but instead relies on deception in the air. Pointing out that every surface differs in nature, he stated:

“For me, the deception starts in the air. The two most important things that I keep in mind is arm speed, first of all. Even though it's counterintuitive, my slower balls are actually faster [in terms of arm speed] than my quick deliveries. So I have to put more on to the ball when I bowl my slower balls."

Harshal has so far featured in 23 T20Is for India, claiming 26 wickets at an average of 26.96 and an economy rate of 9.20.