Dhruv Chand Jurel, an Indian batter and wicket keeper, is set to play the test match against South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Ryn Ten Doeschate, assistant coach of men’s cricket, on Wednesday confirmed the news during a press conference. While mentioning the confirmation for both Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant, Doeschate told PTI that, “I think we’ve got a pretty good idea of the combination, and I don’t think you can leave them (Jurel and Pant) out for this Test — that’s the short answer,”
Doeschate further solidified his statement and told PTI that, “Given the way Dhruv (Jurel) has gone in the last six months, and scoring two hundreds in Bangalore last week, he is certain to play this week.” He further said, “I would be very surprised if you don’t see Dhruv and Rishabh playing in this Test this week.” In addition, Jurel played the West Indies series in the absence of Rishabh Pant, wicket-keeper of the Indian cricket team. In that test series, Jurel scored his maiden Test hundred in the first Test in Ahmedabad.
Nitish Kumar Reddy to miss the match
Doeschate also supported the idea of omitting a player to make room for Jurel in the playing XI. While mentioning Nitish Reddy, he told PTI, “In the West Indies series, Nitish played both Tests and we said it was important to groom him for the future. So yes, we do look at him as a potential player who is playing to learn.”
Doeschate mentioned that the strategy is to win the game. He added, “Our position certainly hasn’t changed on Nitish. He didn’t get much game time in [the white-ball series in] Australia, but I would say, given the importance of the series and given the conditions we think we’re going to face, he might miss out in this Test this week.”
Dhruv Jurel’s performance
Dhruv Jurel, in a year and a half into his international career, has shown poise and maturity beyond his experience. Since mid-September 2025, his first-class form has been remarkable with scores of 140, 56, 125, 44, 132 not out and 127 not out across five matches (including Ranji, Test and ‘A’ games). His first-class average has surged from 47.34 to 58.00, making it impossible to overlook him.
