'Taste the success once, tongue want more' or 'London buses, you wait for ages for one and two come together' and all such idioms are applicable to the 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batter from Gujarat, Urvil Patel, who was just getting started when out of nowhere he smashed the record for the fastest ton in T20 cricket by an Indian off just 28 balls. Less than a week later he did it again, this time in just 36 balls against Uttarakhand. The IPL team who would have picked him would be jumping at this moment... no? But there's a catch, he doesn't have an IPL team, at least as of now!
Patel, who grew up trying to fulfill his father Mukesh's dream of becoming a cricketer, is setting the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) on fire. With a couple of unbeaten tons, becoming the first batter in T20 history to record two centuries in less than 40 balls, Patel is doing unthinkable. But interestingly, he wasn't as disappointed as one would expect someone like him in the form of his life to be. At just 26, Patel has taken a rather pragmatic approach to focussing on the job at hand and staying true to what he is and how he has played his cricket all his life.
To talk about the IPL auction, his favourite cricketer, the clash between SMAT and the auction, learnings from his father and pushing to break the world record, which he just missed by one ball, he sat down to have a candid chat with India TV on the eve of his second T20 century for Gujarat.
Excerpts from the interview
Q. Fastest T20 century by an Indian, has it sunk in?
The fastest century [for an Indian] is a proud moment for me. Everyone dreams of breaking some record or the other in T20 cricket. So by god's grace, I feel very fortunate that I could break Rishabh Pant's record. So yeah, feeling very good.
Q. When did you get to know about the record? Did it occur to you during the innings that you are onto something special here?
I think when I was batting on 83, when my teammate came to serve water then he mentioned that 'you have a chance to break the world record' if you complete the century in the next 3-4 deliveries. I didn't know it before but after he said it, I felt I was batting well so I could go for it. However, I missed a delivery before hitting three sixes. If that ball hadn't been a dot I might have equalled the world record.
Q. How has been the response like? From the family members, coaches, friends - messages, calls, anything special?
For 2-3 days, it felt like I was all over Instagram. So, slowly as people came to know of it, I got messages from my family and close friends and well-wishers. My friends, my father, my sir, everyone always knew that I would do something like this at some point in my career, so actually doing it feels surreal.
Q. Your century came exactly two days after the auction, were you in a point-to-prove mode? Because it happened last year as well when you hit a century in Vijay Hazare after going unsold in the 2024 auction.
When I wasn't picked [in the auction], I was disappointed a bit because playing in the IPL is the dream for many cricketers but in both the games I played, I didn't go in with the mindset to prove anything to anyone. Having played cricket for a decent amount of time, one thing I have understood is that cricket is a great leveller, it will provide you with some great moments and a few bad ones too, so staying neutral is the best way to deal with it.
I played this innings just for my father. He was more disappointed than me. Even my brother was also disappointed. So I just wanted to do well, didn't have IPL on my mind while playing.
Q. I'm sure you were disappointed after going unsold. After the dust settled, what was your final takeaway from the whole episode? How did you move on?
After I didn't get picked, my main aim then was to perform for my Gujarat team. Our team was doing well, with five matches still to go, I shifted my focus to doing well for the team and winning the trophy. And with BCCI, you always know that some tournament is always going through the year and it's not like if you didn't play the IPL, it's all done and dusted. You'll get to showcase yourself in some tournament or the other and I have the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and other upcoming tournaments like Vijay Hazare to perform and there's still time for IPL, so let's hope.
Q. Do self-doubts ever creep in? Do you start finding faults or blaming yourself after something like this happens?
There's a whole world to doubt you, so if I'd have done that, I would not have pulled off something like this. What I am and what I have been doing, I didn't want to change regardless if I get picked or not. Maybe after I am done with the game, then I can think about it. You said it rightly when you don't get picked or you don't have performances to show for, you can doubt yourself and your ability but I have played enough to know that I should be the last one to doubt myself.
Q. You have talked about your father in detail, how he has been your support system throughout, how he was the one who introduced and made you fall in love with the game. Was there a specific moment, a particular innings when you realised this is what I want to do for the rest of my life?
Since the time I started playing at the age of 6-7, my father always wanted to see me playing sport. Even when I used to study, he would take my book away and ask me to go and play cricket. So from then onwards, I had made up my mind to pursue a career in cricket. There's not one particular moment or innings, which catapulted it, I was pretty sure from the beginning.
My father was a PT teacher. He used to participate in 100-200m in athletics at his university. My grandfather and his family came from a humble background, so they couldn't support my father in his sporting pursuit but he didn't let his son, me, suffer because of that.
Q. But was there any particular moment when you felt like you can do this?
When I was picked in the India Under-19 squad, for my father that seemed like a watershed moment. After that, he felt like I could do well in my career in the IPL and for India in the future.
Q. You were there in the IPL for one season in 2023 with the Gujarat Titans. You played alongside the likes of Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, you talked about Wriddhiman Saha, how he helped you as a keeper-batter. You didn't play a single game unfortunately, but being just a part of the IPL, rubbing shoulders with some of the best in the business, so tell me about that experience?
When I was selected for the IPL, I was really happy. It felt like a dream come true. But I was really nervous while joining the GT camp amongst some very high-profile names. But as I slowly and gradually, got introduced to the players, I opened up a bit more and not for one moment they made me feel like a newbie.
And you talked about players like Hardik bhai, Rashid bhai, Wriddhi dada and Shubman Gill, if you ask me there's not much difference between them and players like us skill-wise but they are really strong mentally. Their self-belief and never-say-die attitude is what makes them a class apart. In terms of attitude, I think Hardik bhai is the best. Rashid bhai is very dedicated towards the game. So as a cricketer, areas where I felt I was lagging a bit, I got to fine-tune them during those 2-3 months.
Q. There must have been a feeling 'I wish yeh IPL auction would have taken place after the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy' because then you should have surely been picked?
100 per cent, because for everyone Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is the pathway to the IPL. But we can't do anything about it, it's not in our hands. But yeah there was a thought that it would have been great if the auction could have been pushed back a bit.
Q. We have seen the pinned posts on your Instagram with some of the legends of the game, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. Is there any particular team or player whom you wanna play with?
My favourite cricketer is Surya bhai. Surya bhai and Hardik bhai. I like Surya bhai for a long before seeing him in domestic cricket, playing against him. I have a similar batting style to him. So there's a wish to play alongside him once. But my favourite team is Gujarat Titans. Maybe, since it's my home team so there's a bit of attachment there and hopefully loads of fun as well.
