Last year around this time, Chennai Super Kings showed urgency in securing replacements for their injured players. Urvil Patel was one of them after going unsold in the 2025 auction. Almost one year later, CSK again had to grapple with injuries to key players. Yet, they showed no signs of panic and remained calm instead of actively looking for replacements again.
"We've got Urvil Patel who's still itching to get a game, he's quality as well," head coach Stephen Fleming had said. "I know there's been some commentary around him. We're lucky to have some quality players, aggressive players at the top, so the urgency to get a replacement is not necessarily there,"
The 'commentary' that Fleming had spoken about was the chatter predominantly on social media from fans and former players. Fleming and the team management were certainly under a bit of pressure as the calls for the inclusion of Urvil in the CSK XII grew louder. It was understandable given CSK's poor start and also because of the fact that Urvil was one of those players who provided a bit of spark during their gloomy 2025 campaign. Urvil, alongside other replacements Mhatre and Dewald Brevis, made quite an impression. Between the two seasons, he had also scored a 31-ball ton in the SMAT. But following the expensive acquisitions of Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer, it was always going to be tough for CSK to accommodate all of them and hence Urvil was the "fall guy".
An unfortunate injury to Mhatre finally paved the way for Urvil to get a run at No.3 and the 28-year-old has now grabbed it with both hands by stepping up at a crucial juncture for CSK. The five-time champions have been on a comeback trail but there's still lots to be done in order to break into the top four. Back-to-back fixtures against bottom-placed Lucknow Super Giants provided an excellent opportunity to build more momentum. However, ticking the first box was never going to be easy the moment LSG breached 200 while batting first.