Watch: Dhruv Jurel gears up to replace Rishabh Pant in Manchester Test

India, led by Shubman Gill, are preparing for the fourth Test against England, which is set to begin on Wednesday, July 23, at Old Trafford in Manchester. With uncertainty around Rishabh Pant’s fitness, Dhruv Jurel was spotted practicing his wicketkeeping skills during a training session in Beckenham on July 19.

Rishabh Pant sustained a finger injury during the first innings of the Lord’s Test. Jurel was forced to take over wicketkeeping duties. Pant continued to bat in both innings and even scored a half-century, but he did not resume keeping.

Jurel kept for the remainder of the match. However, his performance came under scrutiny as India conceded 32 extras during England’s second-innings total of 192. The Men in Blue fell short by 22 runs while chasing the target on the final day.

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Watch: Dhruv Jurel Practices Wicketkeeping Drills Ahead of Fourth Test vs England

Rishabh Pant’s availability for the fourth Test remains uncertain after he injured his finger during the Lord’s Test. In a video posted by ESPNCricinfo on X (formerly Twitter), Dhruv Jurel was seen in an intense training session with fielding coach T Dilip on Sunday.

Jurel has been India’s backup wicketkeeper since making his Test debut against England at home last year. He was also part of the squad during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2024-25 in Australia, where India lost the series 3-1 and failed to qualify for the World Test Championship final.

Watch the video of the same posted by ESPNCricinfo on X below:

Dhruv Jurel gets some keeping work in ahead of Manchester - will he be the designated (wk) with Pant as a pure bat? 🤔

Read more: https://t.co/ZnEDLd9b9X | #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/BKWfWZ4VTf

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 19, 2025

Rishabh Pant to Play as Specialist Batter in Manchester Test?

India will have to change the playing XI if Dhruv Jurel is included as the wicketkeeper and Rishabh Pant plays purely as a batter. The decision on who gets dropped won’t be straightforward.

Jurel is highly rated behind the stumps and has earned praise from former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik. One of Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, or Washington Sundar may have to make way.

Nair is yet to play a substantial knock but could be retained for the sake of stability at No. 3, especially with Shubman Gill and Pant settled at No. 4 and 5. Washington Sundar is expected to keep his place. Reddy, who has impressed with the ball, hasn’t yet delivered with the bat

Aakash Chopra Defends Dhruv Jurel’s Keeping at Lord’s Amid Criticism

Former India opener Aakash Chopra came to Dhruv Jurel’s defence despite criticism of his wicketkeeping at Lord’s. He pointed out that deliveries from bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were tough to collect, with the ball changing direction unexpectedly.

"There is a problem at Lord's. The ball goes in one direction, and then keeps moving in the other direction with the slope. I was seeing deliveries from (Jasprit) Bumrah and (Mohammed) Siraj, the kid was diving, but wasn't able to reach there. The balls were so far away. If the ball had gone past the batter where it finished, you would have said it's a wide," he said.

Jurel earned his Test debut during the 2024 series against England in Rajkot.

Also read: Gautam Gambhir calls up MS Dhoni’s trusted pacer for England Tests amid injury crisis