Though the Chennai Super Kings are out of the playoff race in the Indian Premier League, it is an important signing for them as keeper-batsman Urvil Patel has come in for injured Vansh Bedi. CSK still has three matches left to play, and it seems likely that Urvil will feature in all three.
Bedi was named in the playing XI for the game against RCB, but he was declared unavailable just before the toss, with Deepak Hooda coming in instead. Now, with three matches to go, it appears Urvil will be given a crack at proving his mettle with CSK eyeing building for the next IPL season.
Urvil Patel remained unsold at the mega auction despite carrying a base price of INR 30 lakhs. His exploits made him famous when he smashed the fastest T20 century by an Indian on a fabulous 28-ball ton versus Tripura in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He followed it up with a 36-ball century in the same tournament, and that got several IPL teams interested in his power-hitting style. To date, he has played 47 T20 matches, scoring 1162 runs.
CSK have grabbed Urvil for his base price of INR 30 lakhs, with an eye on making a strong future for themselves. He might also be considered as a long-term replacement for MS Dhoni, who is not getting any younger and might only go on for one more season to nurture and groom this young talent.
Going into IPL 2025, CSK had hopes high; however, there have been disappointments, as it lies at the bottom of the points table, with 2 wins and 9 losses. It has, thus, already become the first team to be eliminated this season, leaving its last three matches to be played only for pride.
