Who is Urvil Patel’s father Mukesh, to whom CSK batter dedicated his 13-ball fifty?

Chennai Super Kings beat Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets in their IPL match on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, with Urvil Patel and Prashant Veer playing key roles in the chase of 204.

Veer, coming in as an impact player, finished unbeaten on 18 off 12 balls. He was dropped twice in the 19th over bowled by Avesh Khan, but stayed till the end and hit two consecutive sixes off Aiden Markram in the final stages to take CSK to 208/5, finishing the chase with four balls remaining.

Urvil Patel had earlier set up the chase with a rapid start. He reached a 13-ball fifty, equalling the record for the fastest half-century in IPL history. In the process, he also became the first batter in IPL history to hit six sixes in his first eight deliveries of an innings. He reached 41 off eight balls and broke the previous best of 33 runs in the same phase.

After reaching his fifty, Urvil took out a paper slip from his pocket which read: “This is for you Papa”. He dedicated the innings to his father, Mukesh Patel.

Urvil’s journey has been linked to his father’s influence. He comes from Mehsana, where Mukesh Patel had once pursued sprinting at university level before turning to work as a physical training teacher. He focused on building Urvil’s fitness and cricket training from a young age.

Urvil was signed by CSK for his base price of Rs 30 lakh. He had earlier made 31 off 11 balls on May 7 before this innings.

Mukesh Patel had earlier spoken to Daily Mirror Sri Lanka in 2024 about his son’s early career. He said, “When Urvil was not selected in the IPL Auction, we were all very nervous and so much disappointed that we didn’t eat for two days.”

He also spoke about Urvil’s training habits, saying, “He must have eaten more than three big bags of chana till now. It is said that chana is the food of horses. My son can also run like a horse on the field. At 55, I too can run faster and compete with anyone.”