“I’d be staggered” – Tim Paine on Dhruv Jurel not finding a place in India’s XI for Perth Test

Dhruv Jurel should be in India’s XI for the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test. This opinion seems to be gaining quite some traction. Experts and fans are certain that Jurel should be in India’s team for the Perth Test. The wicketkeeper wasn’t selected for India A’s first match against Australia A, but when given the opportunity in the second game, Jurel proved to be the best batter on both sides.

He scored two gritty half-centuries (80 and 68) after coming into the crease when the score read 11/4 and 44/4. His temperament has impressed Australian captain Tim Paine immensely. He feels that Jurel should be playing ahead of Sarfaraz Khan in the middle order even if he doesn’t keep wickets in the presence of Rishabh Pant.

“There’s a guy who has wicket kept in a few Test matches for India. He averages 63 out of the three Tests he’s played, and his name is Dhruv Jurel. I don’t know if you saw much 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 couple of months, I’d be staggered if he doesn’t play,” Paine said on SEN Tassie.

“He scored one of the more polished 80s I’ve seen, and we were all sitting around as staff of Cricket Australia and thought, ‘Wow, this guy can seriously play’. Keep an eye out for him this summer. I think he’s going to impress a lot of Australian fans. Even though it’s going to be another step up against the big three (Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood), he looks like he has the game to play Test cricket,” the former Australia skipper added.