Harshal Patel returns to Gujarat from Haryana ahead of 2025-26 domestic season; Reveals reason for switching sides

Harshal Patel has returned to Gujarat side after 14 years.

Indian pacer Harshal Patel has returned to Gujarat domestic side after parting ways with Haryana ahead of the 2025-26 domestic season. Notably, the 34-year-old pacer has returned to Gujarat after 14 years.

The right-arm seamer made his List A debut for Gujarat in 2008-09 domestic season. However, he switched to Haryana in 2010 after not getting enough opportunities.

In the 2011-12 domestic season, Harshal made his First-Class (FC) cricket debut for Haryana and has been a crucial member of their squad across all formats over the years. He was also part of Haryana team that won the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2023-24.

It was getting difficult for me to be away from the family: Harshal Patel

Notably, Harshal lives in Ahmedabad and also spends time in the United States of America (USA), where he has his extended family. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he revealed that he made a switch to spend more time with his family in Ahmedabad.

“It was getting difficult for me to be away from the family for long periods of time. So I wanted to come back and see if I could finish my career here. Glad I got an opportunity to do that,” he said.

“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. 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 added.

Harshal has so far played 74 FC cricket matches, picking 246 wickets at an average of 24.02. He has also played 72 List A games, where he has clinched 105 scalps at an average of 26.39.

The right-arm pacer has played 25 T20Is for India and last represented the national team in January 2023. Harshal has been a regular member in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In IPL 2025, he clinched 16 wickets in 13 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at an economy of 9.80.

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