That 4 out of the primary 10 balls that Urvil Patel confronted on his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut had been sixes isn’t all the way down to newbie’s luck however the results of a meticulously honed talent.
The 26-year-old, whose 28-ball century within the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final yr is the quickest by an Indian in T20s, can visualise his pictures earlier than executing them and six-hitting is steeped in his muscle reminiscence because of a routine he developed throughout the COVID-19 lockdown in his hometown Palanpur in Gujarat.
“Throughout COVID-19 and for 2 years after that, weekly, twice or thrice, I’d practise hitting 100 to 120 sixes in a day. I’d bat on the centre wicket of the bottom, with boundaries round 75m lengthy,” Urvil tells Sportstar.
That coaching reaped dividends throughout the 2024-25 season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as Urvil topped the match’s six-hitting charts, clearing the fence 29 occasions in simply six matches for Gujarat.
Simply three days earlier than his report 28-ball century towards Tripura, Urvil had gone unsold within the IPL public sale after being a part of Gujarat Titans’ squad in 2023 with out enjoying a sport. Within the span of every week, Urvil despatched out one other message to the franchises within the type of an unbeaten 41-ball 115 towards Uttarakhand.
Urvil Patel in motion towards Karnataka throughout the Syed Mushtaq Ali match in 2024.
| Photograph Credit score:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR/The Hindu
Urvil Patel in motion towards Karnataka throughout the Syed Mushtaq Ali match in 2024.
| Photograph Credit score:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR/The Hindu
These twin tons of within the home T20 league didn’t go unnoticed. Urvil was known as for trials by Chennai Tremendous Kings after its skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was injured and later impressed in an intra-squad trial match, which paved the best way for a late call-up as an damage substitute for Vansh Bedi.
“The primary day, once I reached Kolkata, the scouting group coach informed me to play freely ( bindaas khelna) as a result of I used to be going to play all three remaining video games. He requested me to bat the best way I did within the trial match,” Urvil remembers.
The administration may supply him that freedom as Tremendous Kings didn’t have a lot to lose after being knocked out of the Playoffs race with 4 matches left. Urvil performed three of these video games, scoring 68 runs at a strike fee of 212.50, and CSK gained two of these contests.
His cameos at No. 3, an 11-ball 31 and a 19-ball 37 towards Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans, respectively, had been essential in Tremendous Kings bowing out on a excessive.
As a lot because the transition from the grind of home cricket to the higher echelons of franchise T20 could seem daunting, it isn’t ‘rocket science’ for Urvil.
“I had accomplished my preparation properly and I used to be assured I’d be capable of execute that within the match. There was no rocket science concerned, and I backed myself to play the best way I did within the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and carry that mindset into the IPL,” he admits.
Urvil was a part of a trio of substitute gamers that emerged because the silver lining of CSK’s disastrous marketing campaign, which noticed the five-time champion end on the backside of the standings for the very first time.
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The 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis, likened to the maverick AB de Villiers, together with Urvil, breathed some life into the Tremendous Kings and provided a glimpse into their future.
Whether or not the franchise sheds its old-school strategies of T20 batting and embraces the longer term is anyone’s guess.
However Urvil, for now, isn’t fretting over his retention within the squad as he cherishes the reminiscences of the one-and-a-half-hour flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad along with his idol MS Dhoni.
“It was my dream to play below Mahi bhai. I’m solely believing it now,” he says, nonetheless a little bit awestruck.