“Played With Me In IPL…”: Shocked India Star On Being Sledged By Joe Root

Team India youngster Dhruv Jurel has recalled the incident when England star batter Joe Root sledged him during the Ranchi Test earlier this year. Jurel made his Test debut for India during the five match series against England earlier this year. On his debut in the Rajkot Test, Jurel got out on 46 but was hailed by India captain Rohit Sharma for his temprament.  In the third Test in Ranchi, Jurel walked in to bat with India in a delicate position at 161/5, following a top-order collapse.

However, Jurel hit a cautious 30 not out and helped India reach 219/7 at stumps, with Kuldeep Yadav batting along with him.

Recalling the match, Jurel revealed that he couldn’t sleep all night, having missed out on his maiden half-century in the last match.

“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,” Jurel told Jatin Sapru on his YouTube channel.

Jurel further added that he faced James Anderson first up the next morning, who started sledging him straightaway. He also recalled how Root, his former teammate at Rajasthan Royals, was also playing mindgames with him.

“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’,” he added.

As far as Jurel is concerned, he went on to score 90 runs in the first innings, followed by another crucial cameo of 39 not out in the second.

Chasing 192 to win, India beat England by five wickets with Jurel getting the man of the match award.

Meanwhile, Jurel has been named in India’s 16-man squad for the upcoming 1st Test against Bangladesh.