Meet Dhruv Jurel, India's New Test Pick

Dhruv Jurel was a surprise inclusion in India's team for the first two Tests of the series against England.

The 22-year-old Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper-batter, who made his first class debut a year ago, has scored 790 runs in 15 matches at an average of 46, with a best of 249.

It was in IPL 2023 that Jurel caught everyone's attention as he excelled in his role of finisher for the Rajasthan Royals.

He made an immediate impact in his debut game, hitting 32 off 15 balls, but it was his 34 from 15 balls which gave him immense pride, as it came against his idol, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings.

Following his impactful showing in the IPL, when he scored 152 runs at a strike rate of 172, he was picked in the Indian team for the Emerging Teams Asia Cup followed by the India 'A' tour of South Africa in December, when it became apparent that he was on the selectors' radar for the wicket-keeping role in Tests.

Playing for India 'A', Jurel top-scored with a solid 69, helping the visitors take the first innings lead in the rain-hit four-day game against South Africa 'A', which finished in a draw in Benoni.

He continued his good form with a gusty 63 at No. 7 for Uttar Pradesh against Kerala in a Ranji Trophy game last week.

With Ishan Kishan not being considered for selection after taking a break during the tour of South Africa, the selectors rewarded Jurel with the biggest promotion of his fledgling career -- a place in the Indian Test squad.

He has been picked as the third wicket-keeping option behind K L Rahul and K S Bharat.

Son of Kargil war veteran Nem Singh Jurel, things were not easy when he took up cricket. Not only was his father against him taking up the sport, but the family couldn't afford the expensive cricket gear.

'I told my father that the kit will cost around Rs 8,000 and he was shocked after hearing the price and asked me to stop playing cricket,' Dhruv had told the Dainik Jagran newspaper.

His mother sold off her gold chain to fund the cricket kit.

Jurel made sure his mother's sacrifice didn't go in vain.

After impressing the Under-14 and Under-16 age group cricket for Uttar Pradesh, he got a big boost when he was named in India's U-19 team for the World Cup in 2020.

The youngster then climbed another major peak when he made his Ranji Trophy debut for UP against Vidarbha in 2022. His career-best knock of 249 was against Nagaland when he opened the batting for UP in December 2022.

Rajasthan Royals kept track of his promising start and picked him for Rs 20 lakh in the IPL 2022 auction.

He didn't get a game in his first season, but became a permanent feature in their team the next season and featured in 13 games, leaving a big impression on Royals Head Coach and cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara.

'Very proud and happy because one of our key motivators and one of our key kind of performance indicators away from the IPL is producing players for India and we have produced quite a lot over the years and Dhruv being a new addition,' Sangakkara said after Dhruv was picked for the Indian Test team.

'Sanju bhaiya (Rajasthan Royals Captain Sanju Samson) says not to think a lot. He told me to enjoy as it was my first season. It gave a sense of security. He always says tujhe jo karna hai kar, baki main dekh lunga. (Do whatever you need to do, I'll take care of the rest). He and the management have a lot of trust in my abilities,' Jurel told the Hindustan Times newspaper last year.

'I also keep talking to Jos (Buttler) bhaiya. I ask him about his preparations. How he targets certain bowlers and builds his innings. I keep taking notes.'