The Indian one-day international (ODI) side is packed with batting talent. There’s no space for players who even average over 83 or score hundreds in their last ODI appearances. Devdutt Padikkal, who has hammered 605 runs at an unearthly average and SR of 100.83 and 103.42 in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), isn’t part of India’s latest ODI squad for the New Zealand series. Nor is Ruturaj Gaikwad, who scored a scintillating ton in his last game. However, another player who missed out is Dhruv Jurel, as he was picked against South Africa only to make up as a batting option in the absence of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer.
Jurel was always going to be excluded from the ODI series against the Kiwis. The ODI captain Gill walked into the team and replaced him. Amidst all this, there was a name of Ishan Kishan flirting around the selection debate. Prior to the announcement of India’s 15-man squad, some reports suggested that Kishan might replace Rishabh Pant as a backup keeper to KL Rahul. But it didn’t happen. It was a strange call since Jurel was already there as another keeper option.
Dhruv Jurel smashes runs for Uttar Pradesh
Now, with his incredible performances, Jurel is leaving no stone unturned. Turning up for Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Jurel is making statements game after game with his surreal form. He has featured in all rounds of fixtures so far, starting with a 61-ball 80 against Hyderabad. A 65-run knock was followed by a superb century against Baroda. He hammered 160 in that game, scoring the highest individual tally of runs for UP in a List-A game and leading his side to a much-needed win. Now, on January 6 against Vidarbha, Jurel continued his purple patch to smash 56 and helped UP post 339/5.
Dhruv Jurel at Vijay Hazare Trophy
| Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 435 | 160* | 87.00 | 121.50 | 1 | 4 | 44 | 13 |
In total, Jurel has struck 435 runs at an incredible average and SR of 87.00 and 121.50, respectively. His strike rate is the best among players with at least 400 runs this season.
What makes it interesting is the fact that Jurel has been batting at one down in the tournament. In Tests and T20Is, he has shown that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) talent is more than adept at batting in the lower-middle order. Now, in the Vijay Hazare, he is proving that he has the game to play long as well. No, Jurel won’t get a chance at the top of the order until Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are available to play in ODIs. But surely, Jurel is doing a favour for himself by racking up numbers effectively.
In List-A cricket (not involving the Emerging Asia Cup), Jurel has a total of 593 runs at an incredible average of 84.7 at a strike rate of above 110. These are insane numbers. Considering Jurel is already part of the Test team, the 24-year-old should be looked at as a prospect for future as well in the ODIs. Undoubtedly Ishan Kishan has also done well in recent times in the domestic circuit, but the fact that Jurel has already been in the current setup gets him ahead in the pecking order.
