Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have announced India's fastest T20 centurion Urvil Patel as an injury replacement for the young wicketkeeper-batsman Vansh Bedi for the remainder of the IPL 2025. Vansh Bedi has been ruled out of the remainder of IPL 2025 due to a ligament tear in the left ankle.
Urvil Patel joins CSK as Vans Bedi's replacement?
The 22-year-old Bedi was about to make his IPL debut during CSK's recent encounter with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He was even named in the playing eleven for the match. However, a last-minute injury sidelined him, leading to Deepak Hooda taking his place in the lineup. Sadly, this injury has also brought an early end to Bedi's participation in the current IPL season.
With Bedi's unavailability, CSK have roped in Urvil Patel for his base price of Rs 30 lakh, who became a batting sensation after cracking a historic 28-ball century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament to become India's fastest T20 centurion.
"Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has signed Urvil Patel as a replacement for Vansh Bedi, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament owing to a ligament tear in the left ankle.Urvil, the wicketkeeper-batter from Gujarat scored the joint-fastest T20 century by an Indian when he raced to his hundred in just 28 balls in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Tripura.He has played 47 T20 games with 1162 runs under his name. Urvil was a part of the Gujarat Titans in the 2023 edition of the league.He will now join CSK for his base price of INR 30 Lakh," IPL's statement read.
Before the official announcement, one of Urvil's family members confirmed the news through a social media post.
Couple of days back it was reported that CSK called three players, Urvil, Aman Khan and Salman Nizar to take part in the mid-season IPL 2025 trials. Even former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer confirmed that through some insider he got to know that Urvil was called for CSK's mid season trials. However, Urvil's inclusion won't make much difference to CSK's fate in the season as they have been already eliminated from the IPL 2025, but it will certainly be a big deal for the budding cricketer.
Urvil Patel is a 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman representing Gujarat in domestic cricket. He grabbed eyeballs by achieving the fastest T20 century by an Indian batsman. This explosive innings saw him reach the hundred mark in just 28 balls against Tripura during the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Patel amassed 315 runs in a mere six games in that season riding on two centuries, underscored by an impressive average exceeding 78 and a striking strike-rate of nearly 230. In his overall T20 career, Urvil Patel has participated in 47 matches, accumulating 1162 runs, which includes two centuries and four half-centuries.
Urvil inclusion marked the third instance of the franchise seeking an injury replacement this season. Alongside a challenging performance on the field, CSK has been impacted by a series of injury setbacks to key players. Notably, they had to contend with the absence of their captain and prominent batsman, Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Gaikwad's participation in the current season was limited to just five matches before an injury forced him to the sidelines. The team subsequently brought in 17-year-old Mumbai opener Ayush Mhatre as his replacement. Furthermore, the five-time IPL champions also secured the services of South Africa's Dewald Brevis to fill the void left by the injured Gurjapneet Singh. Now, with the inclusion of Urvil Patel, CSK has had to call upon a third injury replacement this season. Given that CSK's chances of advancing in the tournament have already concluded, Patel will be eager to seize any opportunity to make his debut in the ongoing IPL.
Currently positioned at the bottom of the points table with a mere two win out of eleven matches, CSK became the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention in IPL 2025.
However, CSK will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium on May 7.