Even before November 1999, a host of exceptional wicketkeeper-batters had graced the international scene, not least India’s own Farokh Engineer and the wonderful Andy Flower from Zimbabwe. But from the time a left-hander from Western Australia stormed the Test firmament at the Gabba in Brisbane nearly 27 years back with a bruising 81 on debut, against a shell-shocked Pakistani outfit, wicketkeeper-batters have been looked at in an entirely different vein.

Adam Gilchrist rewrote the dynamics of Test batsmanship. He was a destructive opener in limited-overs cricket long before he played his first Test, and reeled off numerous wondrous knocks, including in the final of the 50-over 2007 World Cup when, with a squash ball for company, he bludgeoned his way to 149 against Mahela Jaywardene’s Sri Lanka in a decisive effort that took Australia to a hat-trick of titles. But it was in the red-ball game that Gilchrist set stall as a pioneer, providing not just meaningful heft to the Australian batting but scoring runs at such a furious clip that opponents were often ducking, unsuccessfully, for cover.

For the most part of his glittering career that encompassed 96 Tests, the left-hander had the luxury of batting behind a grand top six that used different methodologies to subjugate bowling attacks in all parts of the world. The sight of Gilchrist, the destroyer supreme, striding in purposefully at No. 7, was dispiriting or exhilarating, depending on which side of the fence one was. Gilchrist seldom disappointed; when he scored his runs, he did so with not just panache and chutzpah but also with a violent streak that damaged bowling figures as well as egos. How could anyone bat with such unchecked aggression at No. 7? How could someone fuse a no-holds-barred approach with such consistency (as an average of 47.60 at a strike-rate of 81.95 will unequivocally testify to)?

Gold standard

Gilchrist will remain the gold standard among wicketkeeper-batters, the platform from which the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, more than anyone else, launched himself into the stratosphere. Gilchrist’s towering presence kept an entire generation – or more – of Aussie stumper-batters out of international reckoning. India, however, found a judicious balance; while Dhoni’s aggression in front of the stumps and his brilliance behind it precluded a dynamic new force breaking through, India were compelled to find a place, if only as a specialist batter, for Dinesh Karthik, the ebullient little right-hander from Chennai who was more than good enough to hold his own as a batter.

Karthik wasn’t the first Indian gloveman to play as a specialist batter. Nearly four decades before him, Budhi Kunderan donned that role, even opening the batting in England in 1967 alongside designated wicketkeeper Engineer. A couple of decades on, Chandrakant Pandit played as a middle-order bat with Kiran More slotting in as the wicketkeeper. Such was Karthik’s great natural ability – which he didn’t maximise, he will acknowledge – that in the Dhoni era, India fielded him as a full-fledged opener overseas, and with no little success. Alongside Wasim Jaffer, Karthik formed an excellent opening combine in Bangladesh and England in 2007, bringing up his only Test ton across the border and bettering that effort by emerging as India’s highest scorer in England, when they last won a Test series there by a slender 1-0 margin.

Karthik played his last eight Tests down the order, sometimes when Dhoni wasn’t available (including through retirement) and he donned the big gloves, and at others when he played alongside the Jharkhandi as a pure batter. Just one half-century in his last 14 Test innings meant he played the last of his 26 Tests in August 2018; his Test average of 25 was decidedly underwhelming, given his supreme gift as a batter, but that can happen when one is overeager and anxious to not just justify their selection but also state their case for a longer rope.

India now have a profusion of excellent wicketkeeper-batters across formats – Rishabh Pant, of course, tops that chart, especially when it comes to the red-ball variant, but there are a host of others that can’t be ignored. Among them are Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, exclusive when it comes to the white-ball version. And Dhruv Jurel, the 25-year-old from Agra whose first Test cap came as a wicketkeeper against England in Rajkot in February 2024 when Pant was out after his horrific road accident of 14 months previously and KS Bharat had played himself out of the XI with poor efforts in the first two Tests in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam respectively.

The generational talent that Pant is, he kept almost exclusively from the time he made his Test debut in Nottingham in August 2018 and made a stunning 114 in his third appearance at the Oval till his single-car accident in December 2022 when India were suddenly forced to scramble for a replacement. Bharat, from Andhra, won the early nod for the home Tests against Australia in February 2023 and donned the big gloves in the final of the World Test Championship against the same opponents that June. KL Rahul was nominated the first-choice stumper for the two Tests in South Africa towards the end of the year, more to provide stability and class to the lower order in a line-up from which very few had played in South Africa previously. Bharat reclaimed his spot behind the sticks against England at home and played himself out of the XI following scores of 41, 28, 17 and 6 which meant that in seven Tests and 12 innings, he only averaged 20.09, a definite no-no given that the wicketkeeper’s was no longer a single-discipline specialised slot.

Out went the call to Jurel for the third Test in Rajkot with the series finely poised at 1-1, and it was immediately apparent that India had hit upon a gold mine. The right-hander made a poised 46 on debut, and upped the ante in the next match with scores of 90 and 39 not out, the first ensuring that India didn’t end up conceding a massive lead and the second taking them home in a tense run-chase when he and Shubman Gill put on 72 for the unfinished sixth-wicket stand.

This was in February 2024, when one wasn’t sure when Pant would be available for selection though in a characteristic show of gumption and guts, the stocky left-hander was far ahead of the timelines the doctors had tentatively outlined for a possible comeback to competitive cricket. Pant was ready for international cricket in September that year, making a remarkable recovery from a series of potentially life-threatening injuries to smash 109 on his comeback Test in Chennai against Bangladesh. Suddenly, Jurel faced an uncertain future. Despite an impressive start to his Test career, he had to bow before the irrepressible force that Pant was, though it was always on the cards that he could slot in alongside Pant, if not necessarily ahead of him.

In six of his last nine Tests, Jurel has occupied a specialist batter’s position between No. 4 and No. 8 (and that only because Akash Deep was employed as a nightwatchman at the Oval last August). On the three occasions when was the designated wicketkeeper, Pant was unavailable through injury after breaking his right foot in the Manchester Test against England in July last year. Despite the vast array of batting riches at India’s disposal, head coach Gautam Gambhir has identified in Jurel a dependable batting option, and the man from Uttar Pradesh has comprehensively justified that faith with two hundreds and a fifty in those nine Tests and 15 innings.

Jurel’s coming-of-age moment, if it can be called that, transpired in Ahmedabad last October with Pant still to recover from the broken foot. In India’s only innings against West Indies, he uncorked an excellent 125, then followed it up with 44 in the next Test in Delhi. With Pant returning to action against South Africa in November, Jurel continued on as a batter alone though like the rest of his colleagues, he had a series to forget with outings of 14, 13, 0 and 2 in a disastrous 0-2 result that has comprehensively dented India’s hopes of making a third WTC final in four cycles.

But instead of pressing the panic button and looking elsewhere, the decision-makers continued to invest their belief in him and Jurel has responded in style. Towards the end of June, he was a part of the India ‘A’ squad that travelled on the ‘shadow’ tour of Sri Lanka for two unofficial ‘Tests’, ostensibly at the insistence of Gambhir because of his felicity against the turning ball. Jurel warmed up nicely for the Test series to follow with scores of 141 not out, 14 and 53, and it was no surprise that he was picked for the first Test in Galle, when he weighed in with 51 and 7 in a winning cause.

In Colombo last week, Jurel went one better with an unbeaten 115 during which he brought his technical expertise and his mental fortitude into play. He also kept wickets for a while when Pant was recovering from a blow to his right shoulder sustained while batting, and when he went back to the outfield, took a terrific running catch from point to get rid of Lahiru Kumara in Sri Lanka’s first innings. At every stage in every role, he has looked the part, making his presence felt with total commitment and a never-say-die spirit without seeking recourse to the flashy and the flamboyant.

Jurel was chosen for Sri Lanka for his ability to play spin with finesse, and it is hard now to see him being overlooked during the November Test tour of New Zealand where the challenges for batters will be vastly different. At No. 6, behind Pant, he has the technique to tackle the second new ball if that is what he is confronted with. Ravindra Jadeja behind him in the batting order and the possible return of Washington Sundar from injury mean he is a right-handed option around a plethora of left-handers, and while that alone can’t be a qualification, he has shown that he can hold his own against bowling of any kind in any conditions.

India are fortunate that in Jurel, they have a three-in-one cricketer with his entire future ahead of him. As a batting average of 40.68 from 12 Tests proves, he is every bit deserving of the show of confidence. A place in the starting XI in Wellington in November is no more than he deserves; one can rest assured that Jurel will be short on neither preparation nor fire when ‘Play’ is called at the Basin Reserve.

How often does a draw feel like a defeat? And a stalemate assume the hue of a victory? Often enough, Shubman Gill will insist.

Despite their own uneasy recent dalliance with the five-day format, India would have fancied their chances of bearding the Sri Lankan lion in its own den in a two-Test series that is pretty much the norm when the world’s most sought-after side isn’t playing against Australia or England.

India hadn’t lost a series in this country since 2008 and arrived early this month sitting on a five-Test winning streak on Sri Lankan soil. Even though their last visit was in 2017, they had reason to believe the hosts were ripe for the taking.

Significant result

The script seemed to be holding true. Notwithstanding pockets of defiance from their young guns, led by the exceptional Sonal Dinusha, Sri Lanka slumped to a 185-run rout in Galle in the first Test. The result assumed a more significant hue because India were without two-fifths of their first-choice bowling attack — Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar were missing through injuries — but still won a rain-hit encounter with quite a bit to spare.

There was excellent reason, therefore, to aspire for a 2-0 sweep ahead of the second Test at the SSC ground. Sri Lanka, already without Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis, were dealt another unkind cut when Dinesh Chandimal was ruled out of the second Test after hurting his neck while fielding in Galle. But as it turned out, his replacement, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, had a great game at the SSC, desperately unlucky to miss out of centuries in both innings.

Dinusha delights

Dinusha, however, ensured that a similar fate didn’t befall him. Ahead of this series, the 25-year-old left-hander had played just three Tests but had showcased his ability and his temperament, not least in the Caribbean in June-July when he reeled off a sequence of 43, 12 not out, 92 and 28 in the two Tests.

It should have been fair warning well heeded; it will be presumptuous to say that India didn’t pay much attention to the young man, but they didn’t crack the Dinusha puzzle throughout the series, which is one of the main reasons they had to settle for a 1-0 scoreline despite dominating the second Test too for large stretches.

Dinusha batted for a little less than 20 hours in making 420 runs from 722 deliveries, the single point of difference as the Lankans ground out a fabulous draw after being forced to follow on in the second Test.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom from an Indian point of view. Devdutt Padikkal grabbed his chances with both hands in his first Tests in more than 20 months. In the absence of Sai Sudharsan, he took giant strides towards making the No. 3 slot his own with hundreds in the first innings of both games.

The volume of runs was impressive, but so was his presence in the middle. In further signs of his evolution as a dependable, oftentimes aggressive all-format batter, he treated the bowling with just about the respect it deserved, using the offside as his preferred area of scoring and looking equally comfortable against pace and spin.

India will find it very hard to look beyond him for the one-drop position when they play two Tests in New Zealand in November. After all, how can you overlook the credentials of someone as consistent as the Karnataka left-hander was in Sri Lanka?

And then, there was Dhruv Jurel, justifying the faith of the Gautam Gambhir-led think-tank which was sure that the wicketkeeper-batter was the answer to their prayers for a dependable middle-order batter who could play spin with soft hands, deftness of feet and no gremlins of self-doubt.

Assured batting

Alongside Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal, Jurel was one of the three batters Gambhir was keen should be a part of the India ‘A’ side that arrived on these shores for a shadow tour towards the end of June. Admittedly, neither Galle nor the SSC was a rank turner like Kolkata had been against South Africa in November, but Jurel didn’t put a foot wrong either in front of the stumps — he had a half-century in the first Test which he topped with his second ton in the next — or behind it when Rishabh Pant sat out much of the Sri Lankan first innings in Colombo with an assortment of blows to his body.

K.L. Rahul was dependable without going big while Pant was, well, Pant — exhilarating, unpredictable, entertaining and compelling. Maybe Gill will be a little disappointed that he didn’t join the list of centurions, but his batting looked in decent order, as did Yashasvi Jaiswal’s even if he found novel ways of courting dismissals.

Then, there was Prasidh Krishna. Ahead of the series, Gill was asked if he had a difficult choice to make between the Karnataka pacer and the uncapped Gurnoor Brar as Mohammed Siraj’s new-ball partner. The skipper barely batted an eyelid when he said that Prasidh was bowling the best with the red ball that he had ever seen him, and the strapping quick didn’t disappoint.

Even on the placid decks on offer, he worked up good pace, extracted appreciable bounce and kept the batters honest. When he pitched the ball up, there was movement which, allied with pace in the region of 140 kmph, made him a tricky proposition.

Up for the challenge

Prasidh was up for any challenge, including doing the dirty job of trying to soften up the batters with his shortish length, and is shaping up into an excellent support act for Bumrah and Siraj. India will need their pacers to fire on all cylinders when they go to New Zealand, so from that perspective, the development of Prasidh is perhaps the single greatest takeaway for the decision-making group from this three-week sojourn to the Emerald Isle.

But there are worrying signs aplenty too, not least when it comes to back-up spin options. Despite starting his Test career with so much promise in New Chandigarh when he took six wickets in the first innings against Afghanistan, and despite his ten-wicket match haul in Galle, Manav Suthar is still very much a work in progress.

In Colombo, his craft had to play second fiddle to the slowness of the SSC strip; there was bounce aplenty, which took bowled and leg before out of the equation, but the left-arm spinner was slow to respond when the Sri Lankan batters resorted to the sweep and the reverse sweep.

It might appear a touch harsh on someone who was only playing in his third Test, but this is an early education for Suthar and he will do well to heed the lessons if he aspires to step into the shoes of Ravindra Jadeja going forward and become the lead bowler around whom the Indian spin attack will revolve in the future.

Debut to forget

While Suthar did show signs of promise, Saransh Jain had a disappointing debut — and there is no way to sugarcoat that. On the radar of those involved in talent-identification and selection matters for a while now, Jain is an experienced hand at 33, with more than 50 first-class appearances under his belt for various outfits.

His first delivery in Test cricket was a no-ball, which can perhaps be put down to nerves, but he bowled six more of them across the two innings, which couldn’t have pleased anyone, least of all new spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule. But it wasn’t just the no-balls that were grating. While he did show reasonable control, the threat quotient was barely perceptible.

Saransh wouldn’t have been here if Washington was available but as a fallback alternative, he has a long way to go. In some ways, it points to a slight thinning of resources in the spin cupboard, which ought to worry those in the corridors of power because for so long now, India have got used to having the now-retired R. Ashwin and Jadeja to spin their webs of deception and lure batters to their doom.

After a lull, India have plenty of fast-bowling options to summon despite Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep and Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy spending a lot of time in the infirmary. But for the traditional land of spin to struggle to unearth an incisive off-spinner is a little hard to fathom and harder still to digest.

Jain deserves the benefit of doubt — after all, this was Test No. 1 and maybe he did have the proverbial ordinary one-off game — but for him to set himself up as a semi-long-term option, there must be obvious signs of improvement.

This tour in general, and the second Test particularly, was a steep learning curve for the captain. It’s been a little over 14 months since Gill first led the Test team, in England in Leeds last June. Captaincy looks simple from the outside but entails plenty of decision-making on the fly, even in Test cricket, without second-guessing oneself.

He was handicapped by a rapidly softening ball in Galle and by an SSC surface that had bounce but hardly any pace. Some of the fields he employed were strange, there was a definite occasional slant towards passivity, and the move to almost ignore trying to get Dinusha out on the final day of the series and target the other end was little short of self-defeating.

Mixed run

Gill has had a mixed run as captain — 2-2 in England, 2-0 at home against West Indies, defeat in his only Test against South Africa in Kolkata when he faced a mere three deliveries before contracting a neck injury, a hammering of Afghanistan and now this 1-0 success in Sri Lanka, his first overseas victory as skipper.

The journey has been challenging and exciting, but daunting outings lie in store in the red-ball version before he starts to focus exclusively on the 50-over format ahead of the World Cup in southern Africa in the second half of next year.

India haven’t won a Test in New Zealand since 2009 when Mahendra Singh Dhoni led them to a famous series triumph, and their last visit in 2020 was an unmitigated disaster as they were soundly beaten in both matches.

New Zealand will test the technique and the character of the batting group with its seam-friendly conditions, after which Australia will come calling for five Tests in India. Gill must be on top of his game — as lead batter and as leader — and towards that end, Sri Lanka was a timely, useful wake-up call.

India’s Dhruv Jurel celebrates his century on day two of the second Test cricket match between India and Sri Lanka, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on August 24, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI

India’s Dhruv Jurel celebrates his century on day two of the second Test cricket match between India and Sri Lanka, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on August 24, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Dhruv Jurel celebrates his half-century during the second day of the Galle Test.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Sunday was largely about waiting for the sun. Fringed by the Indian Ocean and lashed by monsoon winds, Galle woke up to the pitter-patter of rains and birdsong. Umbrellas were out, puddles were the norm and the moist climate had a distinct bearing on the first Test as play resumed well after the lunch break.

Undeterred by the damp skies, India pursued its ambition of posting a healthy first-innings total against Sri Lanka. The goal was achieved with Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel lending a hand at varying points. And at close of the second day here at the Galle International Stadium, Shubman Gill’s men scored 460 for nine in 116 overs.

Conscious about inclement weather making further intrusions into the remainder of the Test, and resuming at the overnight 288 for two, India sought urgent runs. Centurion Padikkal continued unhindered while Rishabh Pant lashed left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya for four.

The host skipper Dhananjaya de Silva quickly sought the new ball and employed pace and spin in tandem. Pant miscued a hoick off Keshara Nuwantha, and K.L. Rahul returned to the crease. Rahul, however, had a brief tenure and succumbed to Nuwantha for 82 (175b, 10×4, 1×6) as the debutant off-spinner found turn and appreciable bounce. At the other end Padikkal went past 150 with a whipped four off seamer Asitha Fernando.

With Jurel for company, Padikkal (167, 230b, 15×4, 1×6) was busy shifting gears when he got stumped off Prabath. Ravindra Jadeja strode in and he too preferred flamboyance over dogged resistance. Even as he departed, Jurel extended India’s quest for a 400-plus score. He hoisted Nuwantha for six.

There is a calm air that Jurel always exudes, and he became the lower-order spine. Along with Manav Suthar, he hustled the runs. It needed a sharp catch from Dhananjaya stationed at first slip for Jurel (51, 68b, 4×4, 1×6) to depart after he prodded at Prabath. Mohammed Siraj jauntily walked in, hit a six, played and missed, and even as the tail wobbled, India would like to believe that it has enough to dominate this opening fixture.

Earlier, persistent rains washed away the first session. The persevering ground-staff did their best but with dark clouds often rolling in, they had a daunting task of keeping the turf dry. Like the ‘Myth of Sisyphus’, their effort seemed akin to rolling a boulder uphill.

Coach Gautam Gambhir and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak stepped out and inspected the outfield. Bowling coach Morne Morkel bonded with fellow South African and current Sri Lankan coach Gary Kirsten. And finally when play was about to resume, another wet spell forced the players to hurry back to the pavilion.

Thankfully, the sun enforced its will and the game commenced at 2.35 p.m., and it was India’s turn to press forward in a contest that is bound to be held hostage by brooding skies. There is a forecast for more rains in the coming days and every session will be crucial.

The scores

India (1^st innings): Yashasvi Jaiswal (run out) 32 (37b, 5×4), K.L. Rahul c Nishan b Nuwantha 82 (175b, 10×4, 1×6), Devdutt Padikkal st Dickwella b Prabath 167 (230b, 15×4, 1×6), Shubman Gill c Udara b Jayasuriya 16 (28b, 2×4), Rishabh Pant c Dinusha b Nuwantha 39 (62b, 4×4, 1×6), Dhruv Jurel c Dhananjaya b Prabath 51 (68b, 4×4, 1×6), Ravindra Jadeja lbw b Nuwantha 13 (25b, 1×4), Manav Suthar c Udara b Prabath 24 (43b, 2×4), Mohammed Siraj c Dhananjaya b Asitha 11 (15b, 1×6), Kuldeep Yadav (batting) 12 (13b, 2×4), Prasidh Krishna (batting) 1 (4b). Extras (b-4, lb-3, nb-4, w-1): 12; Total (for nine wkts in 116 overs): 460.

Fall of wickets: 1-47 (Jaiswal, 10.6 overs), 2-236 (Gill, 61.5), 3-307 (Pant, 80.4), 4-319 (Rahul, 84.1), 5-357 (Padikkal, 91.3), 6-377 (Jadeja, 98.1), 7-432 (Jurel, 109.1), 8-447 (Siraj, 112.6), 9-447 (Suthar, 113.1).

Sri Lanka bowling: Asitha 17-1-61-1, Kumara 13-1-76-0, Nuwantha 39-1-175-3, Prabath 39-6-109-4, Dhananjaya 4-0-15-0, Dinusha 4-0-17-0.

Published – August 16, 2026 07:03 pm IST

Rajasthan Royals’ Dhruv Jurel makes an excellent stumping during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders.
| Photo Credit: ANI

India’s batter Tilak Varma celebrates after India won the second T20 cricket match against England, at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Tilak Varma stood tall against a fiery English attack and single-handedly guided a tricky chase by slamming a fine unbeaten half-century (72 n.o., 55b, 4×4, 5×6) as India beat England by two wickets in the second T20I at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.

Chasing 166, the Men in Blue started strongly when Abhishek Sharma slammed Jofra Archer for three boundaries in the first over. But the English pacers were relentless and kept picking up wickets regularly to keep their side in the contest.

Tilak, who walked in at three, landed a few early punches when he smashed Archer for a boundary and two sixes in the fifth over.

On a pitch where it was not easy to play the cross-batted shots, the stylish left-handed looked serene, getting inside the line and using the pace to target the fine-leg boundary effectively.

Brydon Carse then silenced the rapturous crowd, removing Suryakumar Yadav and Dhruv Jurel in successive overs. And when Jamie Overton had Hardik Pandya caught behind, India was in trouble at 78 for five in the 10th over.

Tilak and local boy Washington Sundar (26) got the chase back on track, forging a 38-run alliance for the sixth wicket. Washington, who was dropped on 10 by Adil Rashid off Mark Wood, then made England feel the pain by collecting a six and two boundaries in the same over.

However, Carse cleaned up Washington in the next over to set the cat among the pigeons in the Indian camp.

Fortunately for the host, Tilak showed great composure and hit Archer for consecutive sixes in the 16th over, the first of which took him to his half-century in style.

Ravi Bishnoi then chipped in with two timely boundaries before Tilak fittingly finished the chase off, driving Overton through the covers to help India take a 2-0 lead.

Earlier, England managed to post 165 for nine, riding on cameos from skipper Jos Buttler (45, 30b, 2×4, 3×6) and Carse (31, 17b, 1×4, 3×6).

Buttler backed his strength of hitting through the line down the ground and collected three maximums to help his side race to 58 for two in the PowerPlay.

But, once the field spread out, the spinners quickly got on top against the middle-order.

England vice-captain Harry Brook, following the seven-wicket loss in the first T20I in Kolkata, had mentioned that the smog in the metropolis had contributed to the batters’ discomfiture against the spinners. There were no visibility issues on a pleasant and clear evening, but the English batters still struggled to handle the home team’s tweakers.

Varun, playing his first T20I in his backyard, needed just one ball to castle Brook for the second time this series.

Axar Patel then got into the act and struck twice in two overs, removing Buttler and Liam Livingstone as England slumped to 90 for five in the 12th over.

Taking charge

Carse, who replaced Gus Atkinson for this fixture, ensured that England didn’t fall apart like in the series opener. However, a mix-up with Jofra Archer cut short his innings in the 17th over and stopped England from a final flourish.

Australia’s Tim Paine expects Dhruv Jurel to be in the playing XI for India during the Border-Gavaskar series. The first Test will start on November 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Impressed by Dhruv Jurel’s technique and the ease with which he navigated through the bouncy MCG pitch recently, former Australia captain Tim Paine backed the Indian wicketkeeper batter to shine during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Paine, who coached Australia A in the recent series against India A, witnessed Jurel’s exploits in the second ‘unofficial’ Test where the 23-year-old scored an 80 and 68 at Melbourne.

“There’s a guy who has wicket kept in a few Test matches for India. He averages 63 out of the three Tests he’s played, and his name is Dhruv Jurel” Paine said on ‘SEN Tassie’.

Jurel made his Test debut against England earlier this year. In the three games that he played, Jurel scored 46, 90, 39 not out, and 15, averaging 63 with the bat.

The right-hander has, however, not got a game since Rishabh Pant’s comeback.

“I don’t know if you saw much of the highlights, but after seeing him bat (against Australia A) – even though he’s a wicketkeeper, from what I’ve seen on this tour and from India’s batting in the last couple of months, I’d be staggered if he doesn’t play,” he added.

While Pant is expected to don the wicketkeepers gloves against Australia, Jurel, who was a part of the Indian squad for the New Zealand series, built a strong case for a Test eleven inclusion with two successive fifties in the four-day match.

“He’s 23 and he’s played three Test matches, but he looked a class above all of his teammates, to be fair, and handled the pace and bounced really well, which can be unusual for an Indian player,” Paine said.

The former wicketkeeper batter feels Jurel has the required temperament and skill to succeed in the longer format.

“He scored one of the more polished 80s I’ve seen, and we were all sitting around as staff of Cricket Australia and thought, ‘Wow, this guy can seriously play’,” Paine added.

“Keep an eye out for him this summer. I think he’s going to impress a lot of Australian fans.” “Even though it’s going to be another step up against the big three (of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood), he looks like he has the game to play Test cricket,” Pane added.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins on November 22 with Perth set to host the opener.

Dhruv Jurel bats during the game between Australia A and India A at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday (November 09, 2024) in Melbourne, Australia.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel built a strong case for a possible Test eleven inclusion with his second successive fifty, but it was not enough to prevent India A going down to Australia A by six wickets on the third day of the second and final unofficial Test in Melbourne on Saturday (November 9, 2024).

With this deafeat, India A lost the two-match series 0-2, as the visitors had earlier lost the first unofficial Test by seven wickets at Mackay.

Resuming from overnight 73 for 5, Jurel, who made a valiant 80 in the first inning, once again stood tall amid the ruins with a patient 68 off 122 balls, during which he hit five boundaries.

Jurel shared vital 94 runs with Nitish Kumar Reddy (38) before being dismissed. Prasidh Krishna (29) and Tanush Kotian (44) also played good hands to take India to 229 in their second innings, setting a paltry target of 168 for the hosts.

Off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli (4/74) turned out to be the star performer for Australia A in India’s second innings, complemented well by all-rounder Beau Webster (3/49) and right-arm fast bowler Nathan McAndrew (2/53).

Chasing the modest total, Australia A witnessed an early collapse with pacer Prasidh (2/37), who generated plenty of bounce and hit excellent lines, dismissing Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft off consecutive deliveries in the opening over, raising the visions of an unlikely comeback.

Prasidh took six wickets in the match, boosting his chances to get a call to India’s playing eleven at some stage during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy as the support seamer behind Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Mukesh Kumar then induced an edge from skipper Nathan McSweeney (25) for Jurel behind the stumps to reduce Australia A to 48 for 3.

But Sam Kontas stood firm on one end with a fine, unbeaten knock of 73 off 128 balls to take Australia A forward.

Oliver Davies played an entertaining knock of 21 off 22 balls before Konstas and Webster (46 not out off 66) shared match-winning unconquered 96 runs stand for the fifth wicket to wrap up the match in Australia A’s favour in 47.5 overs with a full day’s play left.

Prasidh picked up two wickets for India in the second innings, while Mukesh (1/40) and Kotian (1/62) scalped one each.

Brief Scores

India A 161 and 229 all out in 77.5 overs (Dhruv Jurel 68, Tanush Kotian 44, Corey Rocchiccioli 4/74, Beau Webster 3/49, Nathan McAndrew 2/53).

Australia A 1st innings: 223 and 169 for 4 in 47.5 overs (Sam Kontas 73 not out, Beau Webster 46 not out; Prasidh Krishna 2/37).