Urvil Patel: Being at CSK has made me believe in myself more than ever

Aggressive batting is one of the most attractive features of modern cricket, and if a batter can be consistent at the same time, it is like a dream come true. Gujarat wicketkeeper-batter Urvil Patel has consistently played such innings that have made him a household name in domestic cricket.

Captaining Gujarat, Urvil smashed a 31-ball century against Services in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025 and proved why Chennai Super Kings (CSK) gave him a chance after signing him as a replacement for IPL 2025.

"It's not that I try to play aggressive shots from ball one. They are backed by months of hard work, which gives me consistent confidence," Urvil tells ESPNcricinfo. "Playing aggressive cricket may not be that difficult, but finding consistency in aggression is a little tricky. I know that if I keep working hard like this, I'll be able to play even better cricket in the future."

Urvil has previously scored a T20 century off 28 balls, the fastest by an Indian and the second-fastest in men's T20s, during the 2024-25 SMAT. He also scored a hundred off just 36 balls against Uttarakhand last season. He has 1349 runs in T20s so far at an average of 28.70 and a strike rate of 179.62 with three centuries and four half-centuries. He also has a 41-ball century in List-A cricket, which is the second-fastest by an Indian after Yusuf Pathan.

Playing for India is the ultimate goal for any cricketer but Urvil wants to pursue this dream a little differently. He believes that being part of CSK last year and his time with Gujarat Titans (GT) before that were two experiences that changed his thinking.

"It's an easy answer for any cricketer to say they want to play for their country," he says. "I want to play too, but thinking about it every day can add extra pressure. After being part of two big teams in the IPL, I understood that there's a process to follow to achieve something.

"For example, I wanted to do well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. But I wasn't putting any pressure on myself that I had to do well. To perform well at this stage, I've been working hard for the last two-three months. I've been working on each shot and identifying my mistakes. There have been times when I've worked on just one shot for days. That's why, in every shot I play now, there's confidence, apart from technique."

Given his form in the domestic competitions, Urvil was expected to find an IPL team at the last auction. But he went unsold and that left him dejected. However, during IPL 2025, Urvil received calls from both CSK and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) almost simultaneously, and he decided to join the former without hesitation as he had been a longtime CSK fan and considers MS Dhoni as his idol.

Urvil scored a 11-ball 31 in his first game for CSK and ended the season with a strike rate of 212.50 in three games.

"When you're in CSK or Dhoni sir's team, the definition of success and failure changes for you," he says. "Just going out there and scoring runs isn't success. If I'm putting in my best efforts honestly, that is also success. I learned to believe in myself while at CSK. It sounds simple, but now I truly trust every shot I play more than ever before."