IND Vs ENG: Kumar Sangakkara Expresses Delight On Dhruv Jurel's Maiden Test Call

Former Sri-Lanka wicketkeeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara who is also the head coach of IPL outfit Rajasthan Royals, has expressed his delight and happiness on the maiden call Test call-up for Royals’ wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel. The Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer was the vice-captain of India’s U-19 team which ended up as runners-up in the 2020 U-19 Cricket World Cup.

Dhruv Jurel had impressed everyone with his decent performances in what was his debut IPL season last year. The 21-year-old is an aggressive batter who has good technique and is a proper team man. He becomes the latest player or product to come from the ranks of IPL which has previously given players like Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ishan Kishan among others to the Indian team.

Watch Kumar Sangakkara Praise Dhruv Jurel

#WATCH | Paarl: On Dhruv Jurel’s selection in India’s Test squad against England, Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara says, “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… pic.twitter.com/e4WOjWEAYT

— ANI (@ANI) January 13, 2024

He couldn’t have expected or anticipated a better start than this to the year of 2024. Jurel has been named as the 3rd Wicket-keeping option along with KL Rahul and KS Bharat who are the obvious starters for the 1st Test against England on January 25th.

The BCCI announced a 16-man squad last night for the first 2 of a 5-match Test series against Ben Stokes’ side which will kick off at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. It will be fair to say that Dhruv Jurel has come in for outcast keeper Ishan Kishan who has been dropped from the Indian side for the 2nd time on the trot.

Kishan was also ignored from India’s squad for the 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan and his return to the side is unknown as of now. He had only asked for a mental health break from the management and was withdrawn from the Test side that toured South Africa last month.

The BCCI were reportedly unhappy with Ishan Kishan asking for a break and then partying in Dubai but Rahul Dravid had claimed yesterday that there are no disciplinary issues with him and that he should try to stage his comeback by getting some game time in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season. But regardless, it will now be interesting to see the development of Dhruv Jurel who averages almost 47 in the domestic circuit after 17 matches.

“Dhruv Jurel Ending Up In India’s Test Side Is Fantastic”, Sangakkara On The Funnel IPL Has Created

Kumar Sangakkara had worked with Dhruv Jurel extensively during the IPL last season with Rajasthan Royals. The Sri Lankan legend claimed that he was among Rajasthan’s key performers in 2023 and he also took pride in being a part of the Royals franchise that has been giving talented names to the Indian national team.

“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. 

“He’s a fantastic young man, a really good player who has worked really hard to get where he has. And that the fact that he’s gone through our development camps and ended up in the Test side is fantastic.” – Sangakkara concluded.

Dhruv Jurel has scored 790 runs for UP in 15 Ranji Trophy matches and he batted at a strike rate of 170+ in the IPL last term, scoring 152 runs in 13 matches.