In his younger days, Patel senior was a university-level sprinter. But the lack of resources and guidance meant he had to give up on his ambitions and settle for the job of a physical education teacher at a government school. Since then, his dream has been to see his son excel in a sport at the highest level.
Urvil, a wicketkeeper-opener from Gujarat, has been part of the IPL previously. At the 2023 auction, Gujarat Titans (GT) bought him at his base price of INR 20 lakh. But he did not get to play and was released after the season. This time, his name did not even come up. His father’s disappointment, therefore, was understandable.
Urvil’s 113 not out in 35 balls helped Gujarat chase down their target of 156 in just 10.2 overs. His innings featured 12 sixes, four of them off successive balls against Mandeep Singh’s part-time all-sorts spin.
After the match, he called his father. “I told him this hundred was for him,” Urvil tells ESPNcricinfo. “I am very close to my father. He has made a lot of sacrifices for my career. He would wake up at 4am to take me for the practice. He used to give tuition to class 11 and 12 students; he stopped that to give me more time.”
Was there extra motivation to prove a point on both occasions?
“Nothing like that,” he says with a smile. “When you are in the middle, there is so much pressure you don’t even remember such things.”
Urvil was born in Vadnagar but started his cricket in Palanpur, a northern Gujarat city known for its diamonds. Under the coaching of Prakash Patani, he polished his talent and has emerged as the brightest gem from the region.
“There was nothing wrong at Baroda,” Urvil says. “I just felt I would get more opportunities with Gujarat. At the same time, I was aware I needed to perform.”
“My goal is always to take one step forward from where I am today. For that, whatever runs I need to score, I need to score. Whatever skills I need to upgrade, I need to upgrade”
So far, he has played 45 T20s and has scored 1014 runs at a strike rate of 161.72. His numbers in List A cricket are equally impressive: 415 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 111.26. Though he has also played six first-class games, his priority remains white-ball cricket: “Power-hitting comes naturally to me.”
Apart from that, Urvil’s big strength is his self-belief. “T20 is such a format that you have to take risks. The most important thing then is to stay calm and back yourself.”
While he did not play a game at IPL 2023, he picked up valuable lessons from everything around him. He observed how professionally Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan went about their work, both in the nets and on the field. The technical inputs – about wicketkeeping – came from Wriddhiman Saha.
“I got to spend a lot of time with Wriddhi bhai. He made me aware of the areas I could improve in. We discussed about the movement behind the stumps, which really helped me.”
Whenever he needs extra motivation, he recalls why he started playing cricket: for his father. His ultimate dream, like any budding cricketer, is to represent India, but he is not looking too far ahead.
“My goal is always to take one step forward from where I am today. For that, whatever runs I need to score, I need to score. Whatever skills I need to upgrade, I need to upgrade.”
Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
