The name of Urvil Patel, the player who scored the fastest T20 century in India, is currently on everyone’s lips, hailing from Vadnagar. Interestingly, Urvil’s name figured in the IPL auction, but no team bid for him and he remained unsold.
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The same player who was of no interest to any Indian League team, scored a century in just 28 balls on the second day of the auction, which was India’s fastest century and the second-fastest century in the world. ‘Divya Indianewsget’ spoke to Urvil about it. Here are the highlights of the conversation with him…
Dad’s dream didn’t come true, but he made me a cricketer. Urvil Patel, a resident of Kahipur village near Vadnagar, said, “My father is a professor of physiotherapy. He only had one dream: “to have a career in sport”. Because his father was an athlete during his college days, but the family situation was not so good, so he could not pursue a sports career. So when I was 6 years old, my father started getting me into cricket.
Made Prakashbhai Patni his guru in Palanpur and started taking professional cricket training from him. I took admission in BA after 12th, which is still ongoing. Till now I have been playing cricket full time but now due to sports quota I got the job of tax assistant in income tax department.
You received an offer to play for the Gujarat team in 2017. How long have you been associated with professional cricket? Urvil says, “For the last 12 years, I have played full-time professional cricket only in tournaments organized by the BCCI. In 2012, I played in the under-14 state tournament for the first time. For years, I played for the Vadodara team, but in 2017, I got an offer to play for the Gujarat team.
Playing for the Gujarat team gave me more perspectives and more opportunities in my career. That’s why I’m playing for Gujarat now. So far, he has played 6 Ranji Trophy matches, 14 Vijay Hazare Trophy matches and 45 Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches.
(There are total 3 first-class cricket teams in the state of Gujarat: Gujarat, Saurashtra and Vadodara)
World’s second fastest century and India’s fastest century Regarding the fastest century, Urvil said, “Earlier, the record for the second fastest century for India in ODIs was also at my name. Yusuf Pathan’s fastest century was in 40 balls and mine was in 41 balls. After that, the century scored in 20 overs is the fastest century scored by an Indian in 28 balls. The world record for the fastest century is in 27 balls, so I am now number two in the world.
Last time Gujarat Titans had bought IPL, Urvil said that since 2018 my name was continuously kept in the auctions by BCCI. But for the first time I was selected in IPL for 2023. Gujarat Titans team bought me for 20 lakhs. That year I was on the team, but I couldn’t play any matches. After that, I was not selected in IPL last year i.e. 2024 and this year too.
I couldn’t even call home. On not being sold in the auction, Urvil said, “Playing in IPL is every player’s dream. The craze for IPL has increased so much that IPL has now become the gateway for the Indian team. But there was a lot of disappointment at not being selected. I didn’t even speak to my family that day.
Because if my parents had known I was sad, they would have felt sad too. But cricket taught me that whatever happens, happens for good, so one day I was in pain, but then I forgot everything and started playing cricket again.
You got the fastest century on the second day of the auction. On the 25th you were not selected in the auction and on the 27th you set the record for the fastest century. Have you marked a century of anger? In response to this question, Urvil replied – No-no! When you go on the field, you have to forget everything about the past to play well.
I was also playing my normal game that day. That day we decided from the start that today we would win the match as quickly as possible. As there will now be a round of 16 after the championship phase, many teams have the same number of points. Next, the team’s running pace was important. And we won the match at 20 overs in just 10 overs. It also improved our team’s run rate.
It was a relief to see the family happy. “IPL auction heartache will linger throughout the year. But his recovery became 100%. After finishing the match on the day of the century, I immediately called home. My father and I were nervous during the two days of the auction. After the century, he came out of the bat and immediately called his father: “Dad, I recorded it!”
Father hadn’t seen the game at the time, so he didn’t know. He asked from the front: “What happened?” When I told him everything, my father also became very happy. Even then I wasn’t very happy, but Dad and my family were happy. So I became normal. I wasn’t selected in the auction, but after this feat everyone started to know me. So it was party time for me.
When Urvil met Dhoni and Kohli, remembering his IPL days, he said, “Suryakumar Yadav is my favorite player. I enjoyed talking with him the most. I like his bat so much that I asked him: What do you think about mentally when you go out on the field? He told me, ‘Be cool, enjoy your shot.’
No one can see anything ahead. Just have fun with the technology you have. Apart from that, Hardik Pandya was our captain. No one has an attitude like his. He is number 1. Because he has great self-confidence. You can learn a lot from them. Apart from that, when I met Dhoni and Kohli, it was also a matter of pride for me. Both are great players and equally wonderful humans.