Uncapped Dhruv Jurel picked for England Tests: Decoding his journey
Uncapped wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel has earned his maiden Team India call-up. He has been named in the squad for the first two matches of the five-Test series against England at home, starting on January 25. Notably, he has been selected ahead of the capped Ishan Kishan. Dhruv has been sensational in First-Class cricket. Here we decode his journey.
Who is Dhruv Jurel?
Born on January 21, 2001, Jurel hails from Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The wicketkeeper-batter was the vice-captain of the India U-19 team in the 2020 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup, where India finished runners-up. The wicket-keeper didn't get many opportunities as he slammed 89 runs across three innings. Rajasthan Royals signed him for Rs. 20 lakh in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction.
Highlights of Jurel's career
Jurel, who represents UP in domestic cricket, first came into the limelight by scoring 736 runs from 11 matches in his debut season in the Cooch Behar Trophy. His only FC ton to date was a fiery 249-run knock versus Nagaland in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season. Meanwhile, Jurel's cameos toward the end were among the highlights of RR's 2023 IPL campaign.
A brisk cameo on IPL debut
Jurel made his IPL debut as an 'Impact Player' in 2023. It was a game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Jurel arrived with the Royals needing 74 runs off 30 deliveries. Though RR lost by five runs, Jurel's unbeaten 15-ball 32 was lauded by one and all. He made 152 runs across 11 innings in the season, striking at 172.73.
Sensational start to FC, List A career
Jurel has raced to 790 runs across 15 FC games at an impressive average of 46.47 (100: 1, 50s: 5). He made 69 for India A in the drawn four-day game against South Africa A in Benoni last month. While he has smoked 189 List A runs at 47.25, the batter owns 244 T20 runs at a strike rate of 137.07.
India's Test squad and predicted playing XI (1st two Tests)
India's squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Avesh Khan. Predicted XI: Rohit (c), Shubman, Yashasvi, Kohli, Shreyas, Rahul (wk), Jadeja, Ashwin, Kuldeep, Siraj, and Bumrah.
