As talks heat up about India’s team for the first Test against England at Leeds, everyone’s talking about Karun Nair or Sai Sudharsan. But one guy who’s quietly making a case for himself is Dhruv Jurel. Since his Test debut last year against England, Jurel has been doing well in both first-class and Test cricket, even though he played a finisher for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL this year.
Before he got his Test cap, Jurel had a great game against South Africa A in December, scoring 69 runs in a drawn match. In his debut series against England, he didn’t disappoint either, scoring 190 runs in four innings, averaging 63.33. He started with a solid 46 in the first match at Rajkot.
Then in the fourth Test at Ranchi, this player who is the son of a Kargil war hero showed real character, forming a 76-run partnership with Kuldeep Yadav and scoring a steady 90. He even won the match with an unbeaten 39 when India was in a spot at 120/5, and was declared ‘Player of the Match’.
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Jurel seems to be emerging as a solid option to back up Rishabh Pant, showing the resilience and balance that Pant doesn’t always show due to his aggressive style. He followed his good performances with a decent 93 against Mumbai in the Irani Cup, even though the match was drawn. Before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he impressed again with 80 and 68 against Australia A, showing he can handle tough conditions and senior bowlers.
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His Perth outing wasn’t great, 11 and 1, but India won the match big. Jurel had his best IPL season yet, scoring 333 runs in 13 innings at 37.00 and 156.33 strike rate, even though he didn’t finish a few matches due to lack of support or some great bowling.After the IPL he flew to England with the India A team where he settled in quickly and scored quick half-centuries in the unofficial Tests. In his last six matches for India A he scored 375 runs, averaging 75.00, with five half-centuries, showing he can bat in tough conditions.
As of now he averages 48.62 in first-class cricket, having scored 1462 runs in 24 matches. He has faced some of the toughest conditions in England, Australia and South Africa and he has done well against England.
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With Rishabh Pant having a poor IPL and concerns about his workload after his injury, can Jurel be the keeper? As India moves on from the legends like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, is there a spot for Jurel as a middle order batsman?
