Gujarat batter Urvil Patel recalled the advice he received from Suryakumar Yadav during his time with Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 2023 IPL. The 26-year-old shared that Suryakumar encouraged him to play fearlessly, focus on the ball, and observe the bowler.
Urvil made history on November 27 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring a 28-ball century for Gujarat against Tripura in Indore. This remarkable knock is the fastest T20 century by an Indian and the second-fastest overall.
In an interview with TimesofIndia.com after his record-breaking performance, Urvil credited his conversation with India’s T20I star for helping him achieve the feat.
“He [Suryakumar] gave me a lot of batting tips. He said, ‘Bindaas khelne ka. Ball ko dekhna, but pehle bowler ko, uske action ko, uske hand aur finger movement ko. And be confident. Apne aap ko hamesha back karna’.”
”[Play fearlessly. Focus on the ball, but first observe the bowler—watch their action, their hand, and finger movements. And be confident. Always back yourself],” the Gujarat cricketer recalled.
“I always recall his words whenever I go to the middle. We both bat with the same approach, and it doesn’t matter who the bowler is,” he added.
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Interestingly, Urvil Patel was among the players who went unsold at the recently held IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, despite setting his base price at ₹30 lakh.
Urvil Patel Shatters Rishabh Pant’s Record with Brilliant Century in SMAT 2024-25
With his 28-ball century for Gujarat against Tripura in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Indore, Urvil broke Rishabh Pant’s record to become the Indian batter with the fastest T20 ton. Pant had previously scored a century off 32 balls for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh in the 2018 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
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The record for the fastest T20 century is held by Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan, who reached 100 off 27 balls against Cyprus in June 2024. As for Urvil Patel’s explosive knock, he scored an unbeaten 113* off 35 balls, including seven fours and 12 sixes. His performance helped Gujarat dominate Tripura, winning by eight wickets.
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