The Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Jedah, Saudi Arabia, just ended. Over the course of two days, 182 players were sold, and the 10 teams spent and incredible Rs 639.15 crore.
However, Gujarat opening batsman Urvil Patel’s name has left off the roaster. A day after the auction, Patel made the decision to make the franchises regret not selecting him.
India’s top domestic T20 competition, the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, is now taking place. Patel broke the record for the fastest T20 century by an Indian batsman.
The right-handed opening bat scored a 28-ball hundred against Tripura in Indore, breaking the previous record held by Rishabh Pant – a 32-ball ton for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh back in 2018 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here.
Ultimately, Patel helped Gujarat reach a target of 156 with 58 balls remaining by hitting an undefeated 113 off 35 balls (7 fours and 12 sixes). In addition, Patel’s century is the second-fastest in T20 cricket history. The record is held by Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan, who earlier this year struck a century off of 27 balls against Cyprus.
In List A cricket, Patel also holds the record for the second-fastest century by an Indian. Patel scored a century off of 41 balls for Gujarat against Arunachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s top 50-over domestic competition, exactly one year ago. Yusuf Pathan’s 40-ball century for Baroda against Maharashtra in 2010 was only one ball slower.
Although Patel’s base price was only Rs 30 lakh, no team chose him despite his name being on the auction’s list of uncapped wicketkeepers.
Patel, who is from Mehsana, Baroda, made his Baroda debut in an aT20 match against Mumbai in Rajkot in 2018. He also participated in his first List A match that same year. When he made his Ranji Trophy debut, this time for Gujarat in the 2023–24 season, it took him six more years to play first-class cricket.
It’s interesting to note that despite being selected by the Gujarat Titans for Rs 20 lakh for the 2023 IPL season, Patel was unable to participate in any games.
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