CHENNAI: On his IPL debut in April last year, Dhruv Jurel smashed a 15-ball 32 as an impact player for Rajasthan Royals against Punjab Kings. The innings was enough for all and sundry to take note of the wicketkeeper-batter from Uttar Pradesh. His team might have lost the contest but Jurel succeeded in making an impact, which most of the aspiring players dream of.
Soon after the knock, the 22-year-old childhood coach Parvendra Yadav told this daily that his ward will play for India in 2024/25. His prophecy seems to have come true as Jurel was on Friday named in the 16-member squad announced for the first two Tests against England.
Even as chances of him finding a place in the playing XI seem unlikely with the squad comprising first-choice gloveman KL Rahul with KS Bharat as his backup. However, the inclusion in the squad is a big move forward for the right-hand batter from Agran. The first match is scheduled in Hyderabad from January 25 to 29 while the second Test is slated from February 2 to 6 in Vizag.
It was Yadav, who insisted Jurel start keeping the wickets which once forced him to stop attending training sessions. Incidentally, Jurel failed to make it to the under-14 state as a batter making him change his outlook. "He then started taking wicketkeeping seriously and got a chance in the playing XI as the regular stumper got injured ahead of the final against Madhya Pradesh if I remember correctly. He slammed a ton and then never hesitated from taking up the dual responsibility."
As Parvendra promised, the all-round ability helped Dhruv to make it to the India U-19 squad for the Asia Cup where he led the team to the title in 2019. He was also a part of the India U-19 team that lost the World Cup final to Bangladesh in South Africa.
More recently, the 22-year-old was a part of the India A squad that played two matches against their South African counterparts in December last year. He had made a 69 in the second match at Benoni. He also scored 63 for UP against Kerala in a first-round group game of the Ranji Trophy at Alappuzha. Jurel made his First-Class debut in 2022 against Vidarbha and so far has made 790 runs from 15 matches at an average of 46.47 with a hundred and five fifties in the domestic circuit. Shami's absence Rohit Sharma will lead the side while pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be his deputy. Senior pacer Mohammed Shami was not named in the squad as he continues his recovery from an injury that he suffered during the 2023 ODI World Cup. Shami was also not a part of the India squad that toured South Africa. Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna was also not considered as he also picked up a left quadricep injury during the Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat on Friday. Pace bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur also missed out but left-arm spinner Axar Patel made an expected comeback to the side. India Test squad for the first two Tests: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Avesh Khan