Star Chennai Super Kings’ wicketkeeper-batter Urvil Patel on Saturday posted a heartfelt message for stand-in skipper MS Dhoni, saying that he was grateful for the incredible chance to play under the ‘legendary’ captaincy of the former India skipper, adding that he has received a ‘masterclass’ in calmness. IPL teams missed out on picking Urvil in the auction, who topped the sixes charts in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, with 29 in six knocks and holds the record for the joint-second-fastest T20 hundred as well. Drafted in as a replacement for Vansh Bedi by Chennai, Urvil made an immediate impression, dispatching the second ball he faced in the Indian Premier League for a six. “Grateful for the incredible opportunity to play under the legendary leadership of MS Dhoni. Every moment with Thala, on and off the field, has been a masterclass in calmness, leadership and humility,” Urvil posted on Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Urvil mukesh patel (@urvil_patel_37) Urvil’s 31 off 11 deliveries helped set up Chennai’s first successful 180-plus chase in more than six years. Urvil featured in only three knocks, one of which ended in a two-ball duck, but he showcased glimpses of the aggressive style that can make him a key power-hitter in IPL 2026. Urvil is older than his fellow CSK replacements Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis, at 26, but young enough to have spent a major chunk of his initial years working on his big-hitting skills. Against the Gujarat Titans in their last league game, Urvil got cracking with a six off Mohammed Siraj and, besides Devon Conway, took Chennai to 68/1, their joint-highest powerplay score in IPL 2025. Having come into the Indian Premier League with the reputation of being a pace-hitter in domestic cricket, Urvil took on the spin of R Sai Kishore and Rashid Khan too. “The thing that stood out with Urvil was his stability in the crease. One of the key things to power-hitting is a stable base and for a young man to come into his first game and stay true to that tells me a hell of a lot that this guy has a future,” Tom Moody had said. In 50 T20s, Urvil has scored 1230 runs at an average of 26.17 and a strike rate of 172.26, with two hundreds to his name.