Wicket-keeper batter Dhruv Jurel on Thursday was handed his maiden Test cap ahead of the 3rd Test match against England at Rajkot. Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first as India rung in four changes to their playing XI. 

 

 

Jurel received his cap from fellow Indian cricketer and commentator Dinesh Karthik, becoming the 312th player to represent India in Test cricket. Alongside the Royals player, Sarfaraz Khan also got his Test cap as former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble presented him with the same.

22-year-old Dhruv first grabbed the limelight in IPL 2023, when he made his IPL debut for Rajasthan Royals as an 'Impact Substitute'. After some impressive knocks, Jurel became a regular feature in the team and had a successful first IPL season. The former India U19 vice-captain then went on to have a fruitful run in the domestic circuit for his state team and also represented India A. It was during the home series against the England Lions before the Test series commenced that Jurel got his maiden call-up to India's Test squad. 

We caught up with Dhruv for a quick chat on his selection before the first Test. Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Q: What was your first reaction to your India call-up? Where were you? What did your parents say?

A: I was shocked! I was with the India A team, we were playing against the England Lions in a 2-day match. The news broke late in the night and when I found out, I immediately called my father to tell him and his first question was, “Which Indian team? Aren’t you already playing for one of them?”. I said, “The same one in which Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma play”. He couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it too!

Q. How have the Royals helped you develop as a player in the past year?

A. There are quite a few off-season camps conducted by the franchise especially to support us not just before the IPL, but throughout the year so that we can go out and perform to the best of our abilities in every tournament we play. It has been very helpful for me, especially having Zubin Sir in the nets, constantly guiding me on things that I can improve. My biggest takeaway from every camp has been that there’s always more to achieve, being in a highly competitive setup like that of the Royals. There are times I’ve spent 7-8 hours at a stretch working on a specific skill set in the nets. It helps me stay focused and be well-prepared whenever an opportunity comes knocking.

Q. You and Yashasvi Jaiswal have had parallel cricketing journeys, you are teammates at the Royals and now you will be together once again in the Indian Test team’s dressing room. How does it feel and have you two spoken since your the news of your selection?

A. Yashasvi and I go a long way back. We played together in our U19 days and it has always been a lot of fun. I am looking forward to sharing this experience with him too. He was one of the first ones to text me and congratulate, said “Well-deserved bhai, very happy for you”.

 

 

Read the full interview here.

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