One of the IPL 2025’s unexpected stars, wicketkeeper-batter Urvil Patel, talked candidly about getting offers from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the winners, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), on the same day. Urvil talked about how he had to make a difficult choice that ultimately led to his wearing the yellow jersey.
Despite a fantastic run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he hammered two hundreds, including a 28-ball hundred, the fastest T20 tonne by an Indian, Urvil Patel remained unsold when he entered the IPL 2025 auction with a base price of INR 30 lakhs. After the massive auction, the right-handed hitter, who had previously played for the Gujarat Titans in 2023, was once more sidelined.
However, CSK signed Patel for the remainder of the 2025 IPL after Vansh Bedi was sidelined by injury halfway through the season. The cricket player was also contacted by RCB as a possible replacement for Devdutt Padikkal, who was injured.
“I recall having two pieces of wonderful news on the same day, so I was thrilled to learn about it. RCB initially called to inform me that Devdutt Padikkal might have been hurt. They were so searching for a substitute. They called me first, but they didn’t say if they would choose me or not. On the Game Changers Podcast’s YouTube channel, he stated, “They asked me to come for a 15-day trial.”
I wanted Mahi bhai: Urvil Patel to meet my father.
But an hour later, Urvil Patel received a more specific suggestion from AR Srikkanth, CSK’s analyst and scout.
“I received a call from CSK an hour later. I received a call from scout Srikanth Sir, who informed me that I was being considered as a replacement player. Thus, be prepared. I was therefore perplexed. “Sir, RCB also called me,” I added. According to him, they were certain that I would be a part of the team. He advised me to wait for BCCI’s approval and to be prepared. For me, it was a great occasion. The family was together since, as I recall, we were on vacation. I told the family that it was obvious that I was going to CSK in the evening after the call, which I recall taking at around 1 pm,” he continued.
Despite CSK finishing last in the 2025 league and missing out on the playoffs, Urvil Patel performance attracted a lot of attention. He played in three games and helped CSK win two of them by scoring 68 runs at a strike rate of 212.5.
Notably, he persuaded his father to go to an IPL match so he could meet the renowned captain MS Dhoni in addition to watching his son play.
When I play, my parents are hesitant to watch. I informed my father that I wanted him to meet Mahi bhai regardless of whether he watched the game. Then, because of him, my father came just to watch the game,” he continued.
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