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Dhruv Jurel - The Man With The Talent To Shine Like A Pole Star For India

image-lt45zq9hDhruv Jurel has been extremely impressive with the bat [AP]

It is always fascinating when a young man begins his career donning the Indian cricket jersey. Realising a once-in-lifetime opportunity to represent the hotbed of cricket amid a climate of uncertainty and constant competitiveness must feel special. 

And perhaps even more so when you are a beginner who happens to have excelled in a team that is sans without some of its most prominent names, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and KL Rahul.  

While it could be actually hard to put into words what it must feel like being Dhruv Jurel at this point in time, certainly savouring the sweet taste of victory must not be such a bad thing after all. 

Not only because the most recent Test match win of which Dhruv Jurel was a part came against an opponent as dogged as England but also because the avid Indian youngster played a handsome part in each of the innings toward the team’s cause.  


A youngster with the wisdom of an experienced lad

For someone who has played just two Tests, if not more, excelling in only the second chance he ever got to represent a beacon of excellence that is the Indian Test team must be an amazing feeling; perhaps something that can’t be sufficiently put into words. 

On top of that, the very fact that besides his agile and active wicketkeeping, Dhruv Jurel shone like a star, much like his name in India’s first innings at Ranchi, formed what could be called the glaring highlight of his young and developing career. 

At a time when both Gill and Rohit were back in the dugout with Patidar and Jadeja not really amounting to much, the 23-year-old from Agra was involved in what could be ably described as a match-saving stand. 

Getting a first-hand account of just what is meant by a team down in the dumps with the scorecard reaching at seven down for 177, Dhruv Jurel hung in there against the mighty challenging troika of Hartley, Anderson and Robinson, albeit with his head held high and clear of the precarious situation his team was facing. 


Diligent batting

image-lt460geyJurel played a pivotal role in IND's victory in Ranchi [AP]

For days to come, we might hear about Joe Root’s brilliant and timely hundred and what a time it was indeed at the just concluded test at Ranchi, but it would be a fool’s errand to undermine the importance of Dhruv Jurel’s patient, intelligent and dogged 90. 

In so doing, he had Kuldeep Yadav at the other end, as the ninth wicket stand sort of rescued India from what could very nearly have been a shambolic state of affairs. But it wasn’t to be. 

Aligning great game awareness and technical clarity that one expects from a seasoned campaigner, young Jurel played like a voyager determined to carry out the rescue act for his Team India. 

And make no mistake, for it wasn’t that Jurel only excelled in the first innings for Team India. His valiance in the fourth inning with the team once again finding itself in a spot of bother with Rohit, Sarfaraz and Patidar all departing without much ado served as a testimony to the rising cricketer’s character. 


When a 39 proved vital 

February 26, 2023, was one of those important days that served as a timely reminder of the importance of the useful thirties, even more so when they come in a team’s winning cause. 

For argument’s sake, one wonders what may have happened had Dhruv Jurel not confronted the red ball challenge that England had tasked the hosts with, scoring 39 very much-needed unbeaten runs. 

Remember the wonderful and stroke-full Shubman Gill was losing partners at the other end. It was a rare occasion when the courageous Sarfaraz Khan departed for a first-ball duck. Jadeja, too, couldn’t lead to much of a change, and India found themselves in a spot of bother. 

But then all was not lost since Dhruv Jurel batted at the other end, accumulating dot balls as well as thoughtfully collected runs for the team’s cause. 

In totality, the man with just 3 Test innings to his name stayed at the Ranchi wicket for no fewer than 226 deliveries, returning 129 runs, each one of them precious, each of them starring in a rescue act for his motherland.  


What lies ahead

Though, having said that, what lies ahead could well be an interesting challenge for his team; where does Jurel go, if at all, in the wake of the fantastic and ever-ebullient Rishab Pant’s return? 

And forget not, there’s KL Rahul, who is currently recovering from an injury but well within his rights to don the Indian jersey sporting which he’s, time and again, served the country. 

What is known, however, is that on his part, Dhruv Jurel has done what he could possibly have to return the faith of the selectors. It is now on the administrators to pave a smooth way for the rising name in the contemporary annals of Indian cricket.