"Ball ko dekhna, but pehle bowler ko" - Urvil Patel recalls interaction with Suryakumar Yadav during IPL 2023 after 28-ball ton in SMAT 2024-25

Gujarat batter Urvil Patel recalled some words of wisdom from Suryakumar Yadav when he interacted with India's T20I captain during his IPL stint with Gujarat Titans (GT) in 2023. The 26-year-old stated that Suryakumar advised him to play fearlessly, focus on the ball and observe the bowler.

Urvil created history on Wednesday, November 27 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy when he smashed a 28-ball hundred for Gujarat against Tripura in Indore. The right-handed batter's knock is the fastest T20 ton by an Indian and the second-fastest overall in the format.

Speaking to TimesofIndia.com after his record-breaking knock, Urvil acknowledged how an interaction with India's T20I batting superstar during IPL 2023 helped him.

"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.

Incidentally, Urvil was among the players who went unsold at the IPL 2025 mega auction held recently in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Baroda-born cricketer had set his base price as ₹30 lakh.

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Urvil Patel broke Rishabh Pant's record with scintillating ton in SMAT 2024-25

With his 28-ball hundred for Gujarat against Tripura in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in Indore, Urvil broke wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant's record to become the Indian batter with the fastest T20 ton. Pant scored a century off 32 balls for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh in the 2018 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

The overall record for the fastest T20 ton is in the name of Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan, who raced to three figures off 27 balls against Cyprus in June 2024. As for Urvil's blazing knock, he ended up scoring 113* off 35 balls, an innings that featured seven fours and 12 sixes. Thanks to his heroics, Gujarat thumped Tripura by eight wickets.