Urvil Patel: An elite six-hitter
And statistically, he already is. One of the cleanest ways to measure six-hitting efficiency in T20 cricket is balls per six: essentially how many deliveries a batter takes to clear the ropes once. The lower the number, the more destructive the hitter.
Urvil has smashed 90 sixes in just 841 balls in T20 cricket, giving him an astonishing balls-per-six rate of 9.34. That places him in elite territory.
Among major T20 power-hitters, only a handful of players operate below the 10-balls-per-six mark:
For context, Urvil is currently striking sixes more frequently than Glenn Maxwell, Heinrich Klaasen, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma.
His six-hitting frequency translates to 10.7 sixes per 100 balls: a number that firmly places him in the ultra-elite ‘six-hitter’ bracket in T20 cricket.
Of course, sample size matters. Most names on that list have sustained those numbers across thousands of balls and over several leagues worldwide. But purely in terms of six-hitting efficiency, Urvil is already operating in rare company.
The Dhoni bat connection
Ahead of IPL 2026, Urvil also received a special set of bats, including one gifted by legendary India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
“He got a bat from Dhoni. It had a heavy bottom hand. He practised with that bat in the CSK nets. In fact, he even told Dhoni that the bat felt slightly heavy. Dhoni told him, ‘this will help you hit big sixes, practice with this’,” Patani revealed.
“Urvil trained with that bat in the CSK nets and later got a custom-made bat with a slightly heavy bottom hand. That’s the bat he used against LSG.”
Being a wicketkeeper-batter himself, Urvil has always idolised Dhoni.
“He is grateful that he is sharing the dressing room and field with that legend. Dhoni tells him, ‘jaise khelte ho waise khelna. Agar achha cricketer banna hai to hamesha zameen pe rehna’ (play the way you naturally play. If you want to become a great cricketer, always stay grounded),” the coach said.
A relentless six-hitter in domestic cricket
Urvil’s six-hitting reputation did not begin in the IPL. During the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he smashed a 28-ball T20 century – the fastest by an Indian and the second-fastest in men’s T20 cricket overall which included 12 sixes. He also struck a 36-ball hundred against Uttarakhand a week later, again smashing 11 sixes. In List A cricket, he owns a 41-ball century – the second-fastest by an Indian behind only Yusuf Pathan.
In fact, that season Urvil hit the most sixes with 29 in six innings, eclipsing the likes of Abhishek Sharma (18 in 7), Priyansh Arya (23 in 9) and Rajast Patidar (27 in 9). And this was no one-season wonder.
The next season, Urvil managed 18 sixes in 7 innings, but most strikingly, he finished with the second-best strike-rate for a player with min. 50 balls faced for the season (243.75), only behind Abhishek Shama’s 243.75.
Urvil was first picked up by Gujarat Titans ahead of IPL 2023 for his base price of Rs 20 lakh but did not play a single game during his stint with the franchise. He was eventually released ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.
Despite strong domestic performances, he surprisingly went unsold again at the IPL 2025 auction. His fortunes changed when Chennai Super Kings signed him as an injury replacement for Vansh Bedi during the 2025 season. He featured in three matches that year before being retained for Rs 30 lakh ahead of IPL 2026.
Now, after one unforgettable night of six-hitting destruction, CSK may have unearthed exactly what they were searching for: a fearless boundary-hunter built for modern T20 cricket.