Rajasthan Royals youngster smashes 38-ball fifty after getting maiden Test call up
Dhruv Jurel, Rajasthan Royals' 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, made the headlines yesterday as he earned his maiden Test call up for the first two Test matches of the five-match series against England at home. He earned his place on the back of some solid performances in the Ranji Trophy and India A.
It's not even been 24 hours since he was named in the squad and he has carried his rich vein of form forward as he smashed a breathtaking 38-ball 50 in the two-day practice match against the England Lions. Jurel walked in to bat at 331/4 and was involved in a 57-run stand with Manav Suthar, where he did the bulk of the scoring.
Jurel's innings consisted of five fours and three sixes, which means almost 80% of his runs came in boundaries. It looks like his Indian team call-up has served as a big confidence-booster for him.
Also Read: Why has India picked Dhruv Jurel for first two England Tests?
The youngster also played an excellent knock of 69 against South Africa A last month and averages a healthy 46.47 in first-class cricket, with a century and five fifties to his name.
The likes of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rishabh Pant have just started establishing their authority in international cricket, and it looks like we already have our next all-format superstar. He is none other than Dhruv Jurel. Picked for the England Tests yesterday, he…
— Prasenjit Dey (@CricPrasen) January 13, 2024
Apart from Jurel, other players like Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, and Kona Srikar Bharat also impressed. Patidar smashed 111, whereas Sarfaraz and Bharat scored 96 and 64 respectively. All the batters played quite aggressively and maintained a healthy strike-rate above 75.
India A delivered a strong batting performance overall, with their final score reaching 462/8 by the end of the match. England A scored 233 before that and the match was finally drawn.
The two teams will take each other on in an unofficial three-match Test series next, starting with the first game at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on January 17. The next two games will also be played at the same venue.