Irrespective of who ends up being the player of the match, the player of the tournament or who ends up scoring the most number of runs in the two Tests held thus far with the second already in play, with three more days up ahead, a fact can be ascertained with certainty. And it’s that Dhruv Jurel has come of age, and been conducting himself with a sense of newfound confidence and perhaps even purpose. After Devdutt Padikkal lit India’s first inning with a cracking century and others like captain Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant chipped in with useful fifties, the young wicketkeeper batter struck a timely and second Test ton- an unbeaten 115.
So useful and timely was this vital knock from the part of the right handed keeper- batter that it ultimately propelled India to a team score north of 500. And that’s not all.
What it’s also done is that somewhere perhaps it’s given the likes of Rishabh Pant some thinking to do in terms of how the firebrand cricketer may never take his role as a keeper batter in the Indian test side for granted.
But what’s of equal essentiality is the sheer regard and attention that Dhruv Jurel’s brilliant test century is fetching - and deservingly so.
Someone who’s observed him closely from the Rajasthan Royals rank in the IPL, Vikram Rathour has lauded effusive praise towards Jurel praising his valiant and important contribution for team India.
The experienced coach happened to share the following in appreciation of Dhruv Jurel:
“He is one of the better batters in the country. Somebody I believe in. I firmly believe he can play all 3 formats of the game for the country. Great work ethics. He’s learning from his experiences, he’s getting better everyday. Working with him, I think he’s a dream to work with as a coach. He’s a really really nice guy. He works hard on his game!”
Well, let’s just hope that Dhruv Jurel can further build on his incredible batting effort for Team India as seen in this test. He’s got all the time and skill on his hands to get even better and this is just the beginning.
