100 to 120 sixes a day: How CSK power-hitter Urvil Patel ingrained six-hitting into his muscle memory

That four out of the first 10 balls that Urvil Patel faced on his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut were sixes isn’t down to beginner’s luck but the result of a meticulously honed skill.

The 26-year-old, whose 28-ball century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year is the fastest by an Indian in T20s, can visualise his shots before executing them and six-hitting is steeped in his muscle memory thanks to a routine he developed during the COVID-19 lockdown in his hometown Palanpur in Gujarat.

“During COVID-19 and for two years after that, weekly, twice or thrice, I would practise hitting 100 to 120 sixes in a day. I would bat at the centre wicket of the ground, with boundaries around 75m long,” Urvil tells Sportstar.

That training reaped dividends during the 2024-25 season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as Urvil topped the tournament’s six-hitting charts, clearing the fence 29 times in just six matches for Gujarat.

Just three days before his record 28-ball century against Tripura, Urvil had gone unsold in the IPL auction after being part of Gujarat Titans’ squad in 2023 without playing a game. In the span of a week, Urvil sent out another message to the franchises in the form of an unbeaten 41-ball 115 against Uttarakhand.

Those twin hundreds in the domestic T20 league didn’t go unnoticed. Urvil was called for trials by Chennai Super Kings after its skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was injured and later impressed in an intra-squad trial match, which paved the way for a late call-up as an injury replacement for Vansh Bedi.

“The first day, when I reached Kolkata, the scouting team coach told me to play freely ( bindaas khelna) because I was going to play all three remaining games. He asked me to bat the way I did in the trial match,” Urvil recalls.

The management could offer him that freedom as Super Kings didn’t have much to lose after being knocked out of the Playoffs race with four matches left. Urvil played three of those games, scoring 68 runs at a strike rate of 212.50, and CSK won two of those contests.

His cameos at No. 3, an 11-ball 31 and a 19-ball 37 against Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans, respectively, were crucial in Super Kings bowing out on a high.

As much as the transition from the grind of domestic cricket to the upper echelons of franchise T20 may seem daunting, it isn’t ‘rocket science’ for Urvil.

“I had done my preparation well and I was confident I would be able to execute that in the match. There was no rocket science involved, and I backed myself to play the way I did in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and carry that mindset into the IPL,” he admits.

Urvil was part of a trio of replacement players that emerged as the silver lining of CSK’s disastrous campaign, which saw the five-time champion finish at the bottom of the standings for the very first time.

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The 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis, likened to the maverick AB de Villiers, along with Urvil, breathed some life into the Super Kings and offered a glimpse into their future.

Whether the franchise sheds its old-school methods of T20 batting and embraces the future is anybody’s guess.

But Urvil, for now, isn’t fretting over his retention in the squad as he cherishes the memories of the one-and-a-half-hour flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad with his idol MS Dhoni.

“It was my dream to play under Mahi bhai. I am only believing it now,” he says, still a little awestruck.