Urvil Patel, the Gujarat wicketkeeper-batter, was one of the most anticipated hot local players before last year's IPL auction, especially having hit a couple of centuries during that time but also being around the circuit for a bit. However, to Patel and his family's disappointment, he didn't find any takers on the auction table and maybe as a riposte, he smashed a couple of sub-30-ball centuries within a span of a week. Hence, he was on the radar and like they say about London buses, he got a late call not from one but two teams on the very same day.
Patel, who was eventually signed by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), revealed why he went with the Men in Yellow and not the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the eventual champions of the 2025 edition of the IPL, who were the first ones to approach him.
"Jab pehli mujhe pata chala toh bahut excited tha kyunki ek din mein do news mere liye acchi this kyunki pehle call aaya tha mujhe RCB se. Devdutt Padikkal shayad injured the, toh unki jagah pe voh replacement dekh rahe the, toh pehle udhar se call aaya tha (The first time I got to know of it, I was really excited as I got a couple of offers on the same day because RCB approached me first. I think Devdutt Padikkal was injured and they were looking to replace him, so I got a call from them)," Patel said on GC Podcast.
"But they said that my getting picked wasn't a certainty. They asked me to attend the trials with them for 15 days," he added. Patel replaced Vansh Bedi, the Delhi wicket-keeper batter in the CSK squad and ended up impressing many people, with returns of 11-ball 31 and a 37 off 19 in two of the three matches he played at the business end of the season.
"An hour later, I got a call from CSK, Srikanth sir, from the scouting team. So he told me that 'we are looking at you as a replacement player, so be ready.' So I told him, 'Sir, I got a call from RCB as well.' So he said that CSK was sure and was just waiting for the BCCI's approval to sign me up," Patel further said while mentioning that he was on vacation with his family when he got the call and couldn't believe what just happened to him within an hour.
There's uncertainty over MS Dhoni's participation in further seasons of the IPL and Patel did not harm his chances of getting retained by CSK and being a starter in the playing XI. On the other hand, Mayank Agarwal joined RCB as Padikkal's replacement and he also did well in a couple of matches.
