It is all but confirmed that Dhruv Jurel will make his Test debut on Thursday in Rajkot in the third Test against England, replacing KS Bharat.
The BCCI gave a big hint for this by uploading an interview of the youngster from Agra on the eve of the Rajkot Test, wherein he talked about dedicating his potential Test debut cap to his “hero” – his father.
KS Bharat recorded scores of 41, 28, 17, and 6 in the two Tests and averages only 20 in his 7-Test career so far.
23-year-old Dhruv Jurel, who shone for the Rajasthan Royals last season in the IPL, has impressive first-class numbers. In 15 FC matches, the right-hander averages 46 with the help of one century and five fifties. He is very likely to make his Test debut in Rajkot.
Jurel, who comes from a financially struggling background – his mother had to sell her gold chain to fund Dhruv’s cricket kit, and his father, Nem Singh Jurel, is a Kargil war veteran – spoke about dedicating his potential Test debut cap to his father.
“If I get the India cap, I would like to dedicate this to my father because he is my hero. Whenever I feel confused, I will talk to him. He guides me. He is my hero,” Dhruv Jurel said an in interview with the BCCI.
I was nervous as soon as I got to know that my name is in the Indian cricket team: Dhruv Jurel
![[Video] 'He Is My Hero': Dhruv Jurel Dedicates Debut Test Cap To His Father](https://thecricketlounge.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/shardul-2024-02-14T214455.677.webp)
The injury to Rishabh Pant and poor form with the bat of KS Bharat has paved the way for a likely Test debut for Dhruv Jurel. Similarly,Β Sarfaraz Khan is also very likely to get his Test cap in Rajkot, replacing the dropped Shreyas Iyer, in the absence of the injured KL Rahul and unavailable Virat Kohli.
This is the maiden India squad call-up for Dhruv Jurel.
He reflected on his first experience with the India squad. He said, “To be honest, I was literally nervous as soon as I got to know that my name is in the Indian cricket team. So I was just worried about where to sit in the bus. I was worried that someone would come to the seat I was sitting and tell me ‘this is my seat’. I was literally nervous. I just came up with this strategy that if the bus is leaving at 8, I will come into the bus at 7:59 and see everyone settled before taking the bus.”
Watch the interview here:
ππ΅πΏππ πππΏπ²πΉ – ππΆπΏππ ππΊπ½πΏπ²πππΆπΌπ»π!
Being named in the Test squad π
Day 1 jitters with #TeamIndia π¬
Finding his seat in the bus πJurel is a mixed bag of fun & emotions!#INDvENG | @dhruvjurel21 | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/WQryiDhdHG
β BCCI (@BCCI) February 14, 2024
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