Jurel, Not Sarfaraz, Set to Be Team Management’s Choice in Galle

Dhruv Jurel. Source: BCCI X
India’s nets session here at the Galle International Cricket Stadium on Thursday started with a close inspection of the pitch. The ‘usual suspects’ were there — head coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Shubman Gill, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak. As they were having a mid-pitch conference, Dhruv Jurel was called in. The latter had led India A in the unofficial Tests against Sri Lanka A in Galle only about a month and a half ago. His inputs were sought.
Later, Jurel had a long batting stint at the nets, and there was enough indication that the team management will stick with him at No. 6 or 7, at least in the first Test, which starts on Saturday.
There shouldn’t have been a debate on this. But Sarfaraz Khan’s inclusion as the replacement for the injured Sai Sudharsan has given rise to this middle-order discussion. A middle-order batsman coming in for a No. 3 suggested that the selectors and team management wanted to add to the batting depth down the order. As for the No. 3 position, Devdutt Padikkal has sealed it in Sai’s absence.
Going by the hard numbers, Jurel has so far flattered to deceive as a batsman. His debut series against England in 2024 was impressive, especially a game-changing 90 in Ranchi. But apart from a century against the West Indies in Ahmedabad last year, he has failed to build on that. Then again, the 25-year-old has played only 10 Tests so far and is still going through the bedding-in process in red-ball cricket. The team management has decided to invest in him.
Yes, the way Jurel got out to Simon Harmer in the second Test between India and South Africa in Guwahati last winter did not hold him in a good light — hard hands and stabbing at the ball like a batsman from the Occident. But over the last couple of years, the overall quality of playing spin on rank turners in this Indian batting line-up has gone down a notch.
Jurel scoring 1 and 17 in the tour game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI in the lead-up to the first Test, and Sarfaraz’s arrival — one of the better players against spin — have thrown open the debate over whether the team management should draft the Mumbai batsman into the playing XI. As things stand, it’s unlikely to happen.
Sarfaraz walked into the nets towards the tail-end of India’s practice session. At the press conference, when Morne Morkel was asked about the middle-order options — Jurel and Sarfaraz, to be precise — his reply was pretty matter-of-fact.
“I think in these conditions you always want to have those options,” said the bowling coach. “You can explore and you can discuss and come up with the best combination.”
Dropping Jurel in the first Test for someone who has come in as a replacement would have been a downright dismissal of the former’s ability. The think-tank is unlikely to do that.
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The post Jurel, Not Sarfaraz, Set to Be Team Management’s Choice in Galle appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.



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