Star SRH seamer leaves Haryana rejoins Gujarat ahead of 2025-26 Domestic cricket season
Harshal Patel ends his Haryana stint to rejoin Gujarat for the 2025-26 domestic season in a homecoming move.
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SRH seamer Harshal Patel has decided to part ways with Haryana after more than a decade and will represent Gujarat in the 2025-26 domestic season. The experienced pacer has completed the necessary paperwork and will be available for the state’s pre-season camp later this month, which also includes a tri-series featuring Baroda and Saurashtra. The move mirrors the recent switch of Jayant Yadav, another Haryana stalwart, who signed up with Puducherry.
This is a return home for Harshal, who was born in Gujarat and made his List A debut for the state in 2008-09. After the 2010 Under-19 World Cup, limited chances forced him to shift to Haryana, where he went on to become their leading bowler. Over 74 first-class matches, he has taken 246 wickets at 24.02 and was central to their white-ball success, especially the 2023-24 Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph.
On the domestic front, Harshal has been a regular in the IPL, most recently taking 16 wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2025 season, and his addition will give Gujarat a big boost to their bowling stocks as the franchise looks to rebuild under head coach Ramesh Powar, with the Ranji Trophy campaign beginning in October.
Harshal on his homecoming ahead of 2025-26 domestic season
"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,” Harshal said. "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."
"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 playing everything and anything that the team wants me to play. While my specialization will remain white-ball, I'm more than happy to take any opportunities that come my way with red-ball cricket," he explained. "My body allows me to bowl 20 overs in a day… 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."
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