Former Australian captain Tim Paine has backed young wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel and believes the latter could be very useful for the Indian side in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Jurel has played just three matches and was mainly included in India's touring party for the five-match Test series in Australia as a back-up to regular keeper Rishabh Pant, the 23-year-old impressed during a recent match for India A against Australia A in Melbourne.
Jurel caught Paine's eye as he looked composed to contribute scores of 80 and 68 at No. 6 in the low-scoring MCG match and the former Australia captain – who coached Australia A in the match – believes the right-hander will play as a specialist batsman in the opening Test of the summer in Perth.
“I don't know if you've seen a lot 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 few months I'd be stunned if he doesn't play. He scored one of the more polished 80s I've seen, and we all sat there as a Cricket Australia staff and thought, 'Wow, this guy can seriously play,'” Paine said on Tuesday Australian radio station SEN, as quoted by the ICC.
Jurel made his Test debut against England in Rajkot earlier this year, claiming a catch and a stumping while replacing Pant, while also contributing 46 runs with the bat after coming in at number 8 during the comprehensive victory in India.
A composite innings of 90 followed in the subsequent Test in Ranchi, with Jurel averaging 63.33 from three Test appearances against England earlier this year.
Paine knows Jurel will get a step up in his class if he is selected to play the crucial ICC World Test Championship match against Australia, but believes he is up for the challenge and will be suited to the fast-paced conditions expected in Perth .
“He's 23 and has played three Test matches, but he looked a class above any of his team-mates, to be honest, and handled the pace and bounce really well, which can be unusual for an Indian player,” he said. former right-hand man. said.
“Keep an eye on him this summer. I think he will impress a lot of Australian fans. Even though it will be another step up against the big three (Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood), he looks like he has the game. ” to play Test cricket,” the 39-year-old added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
