Dhruv Jurel is all set to return to Test cricket after the BCCI’s selection committee backed the youngster for the upcoming opening Test match of the series against Bangladesh next week, where he will be competing for a spot in the playing XI against returning Rishabh Pant. Ahead of the comeback, Jurel recalled his debut Test series earlier this year against England at home, where his best performance came in Ranchi, and the 23-year-old was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his scores of 90 and 38.
With KL Rahul out with an injury and India having run out on patience in KS Bharat, Jurel earned his international debut in Rajkot, in the third Test against England, before producing a heroic performance in Ranchi to help India seal the series.
Speaking to Jatin Sapru on his YouTube channel, Jurel recalled the first innings, when India lost three wickets in a space of 10 overs for just 16 runs to go seven down. The wicketkeeper-batter had then made a cautious start to his knock, but after veteran England fast bowler James Anderson tried to sledge him over his approach, he changed his gears to stitch a valiant 76-run stand alongside tailender Kuldeep Yadav.
“The next match was in Ranchi. Everything was going well, and suddenly, a flurry of wickets fell. England players were relaxed and were playing for fun. Then Anderson came to me and said, ‘I’ve seen your videos, this is not your game.’ That was because I was defending a lot and taking singles. I thought of giving it back, but realised that I should wait, score a few runs and then maybe he would be quiet. Then I thought I should rather play positively, than take a cautious approach, and hence decided to take on Shoaib Bashir. I knew nothing could stop me if he bowled in the slot. And then I had that partnership with Kuldeep,” he said.
‘I was shocked when Joe Root…’
On Day 3, Jurel notched up his maiden half-century and the partnership with Kuldeep began to frustrate the England players as India’s first-innings deficit fell below the 100-run mark. And, it led to the likes of Anderson, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root sledging the two players at the crease.
While Anderson had been doing it on Day 2 as well, it was Root’s act that left Jurel shocked as they shared the same dressing room at Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2023.
He said: “I could not sleep that night. I was not out on 30. I was making plans for the next day, thinking whether I should try to get the half-century with the old ball, because a few overs were still left, or against the new ball. But eventually I managed to get around 36 before they took the new ball and Anderson returned. He was all aggressive by then and was continuously sledging. Given the British accent, I did not understand half of those words. Even Bairstow and Joe Root joined. I was shocked because Root used to play with me in IPL, and I asked him, ‘Why are you sledging me?’ He replied: ‘We are all playing for our country now.’”
Jurel will be back in action on September 19 with the start of the first of the two-Test series against Bangladesh.