Former Sri Lanka Wicket-keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara, who is also the head coach of IPL team Rajasthan Royals, has expressed his joy and happiness over the maiden Test call-up for Royals’ wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel. The Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer was the vice-captain of the India U-19 team, which finished as runners-up in the 2020 U-19 Cricket World Cup.
Dhruv Jurel impressed everyone with his decent performances in what was his first season in IPL last year. The 21-year-old is an aggressive hitter who has good technique and is a true team man. He becomes the latest player or product to emerge from the IPL ranks, which he has previously given to the likes of Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishan Kishan among others to the Indian team.
Watch Kumar Sangakkara praise Dhruv Jurel
#LOOK | Paarl: On Dhruv Jurel’s selection in India’s Test team against England, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara says: “I am very proud and happy because one of our main motivators and one of our main performance indicators outside the IPL is to produce players for… pic.twitter.com/e4WOjWEAYT
— AIN (@ANI) January 13, 2024
I couldn’t have hoped or anticipated a better start than this for the year 2024. Jurel has been named as Wicket’s third sustaining option along with KL Rahul and KS Bharat, who are the obvious starters for the first Test against England on January 25.
The BCCI last night announced a 16-man squad for the first 2 of a 5-match Test series against Ben Stokes’ team starting at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. It will be fair to say that Dhruv Jurel replaced the sidelined wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan, who was dropped from the Indian side for the second time in a row.
Kishan was also ignored from India’s squad for the 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan and his return to the team is unknown as of now. He had only asked the management for a break for mental health reasons and was dropped from the Test team that toured South Africa last month.
The BCCI was reportedly unhappy with Ishan Kishan asking for a break and then partying in Dubai, but Rahul Dravid yesterday claimed that there are no disciplinary issues with him and he should try to arrange his comeback by earning some playing time in the Trophy Ranji in progress. season. But regardless, it will now be interesting to see the development of Dhruv Jurel, who averages almost 47 on the domestic circuit after 17 matches.
“For Dhruv Jurel to end up in the Indian Test side is fantastic,” Sangakkara has created in the IPL funnel
Kumar Sangakkara had worked extensively with Dhruv Jurel during the IPL last season with Rajasthan Royals. The Sri Lanka legend claimed that he was among the key players for Rajasthan in 2023 and also took pride in being a part of the Royals franchise that has been giving talented names to the Indian national team.
“I am very proud and happy because one of our key motivators and one of our key performance indicators outside the IPL is to produce players for India and we have produced quite a bit over the years and Dhruv is a new addition.” – said Sangakkara.
“He is a fantastic young man, a really good player who has worked very hard to get to where he is. And the fact that he has come through our development camps and ended up in the Test side is fantastic.” – concluded Sangakkara.
Dhruv Jurel scored 790 runs for UP in 15 Ranji Trophy matches and batted at a strike rate of 170+ in the IPL last season, scoring 152 runs in 13 matches.