The Gossip

Dhruv has been included in the Indian team for the first two matches of the five-match Test series against England. Until a few months ago, he would not have even thought that he would make such an entry into the Indian team. This dream has come true for this 22-year-old player.

Dhruv Jurel, the wicketkeeper-batsman from Uttar Pradesh, will soon be seen boarding a flight to Hyderabad. On that flight, he will be accompanied by renowned cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and KL Rahul. The flight that Dhruv is about to embark on is no ordinary flight. It will take him closer to his dreams, dreams that he has cherished since childhood.

In fact, Dhruv has been included in the Indian team for the first two matches of the five-match Test series against England. Until a few months ago, he wouldn’t have even imagined that he would be a part of Team India. This dream has now become a reality for this 22-year-old player.

Dhruv Jurel’s childhood was spent in this way. This 22-year-old player has achieved many great feats at a young age. He is from Agra and his father was in the army, who participated in the Kargil war. Jurel was born in 2001 and he was not even 10 years old when his father retired as a Havaldar in the army.

At that time, Dhruv Jurel was studying at the Army School in Agra. His father wanted his son to become an officer in the army and serve the country like him. For this reason, Dhruv’s father, Nirmal Singh Jurel, asked his son to participate in sports-related activities. When a two-month sports camp started in school, Dhruv reached there with his two friends to participate in swimming.

In fact, in his childhood, Dhruv had lied to his father that he was only learning swimming in school. When his father found out that Dhruv had also enrolled for cricket coaching, he was surprised. When Dhruv needed a bat, his father borrowed 800 rupees from his friends to buy a bat.

The father wanted his son to prepare for a government job. Due to a humble background where finances were a big issue, Dhruv hated seeing his father greeting others. He worked hard on his cricket so that he could ensure that his father never had to greet anyone one day. Dhruv succeeded in doing so.

When Dhruv grew up a little, his father wanted him to focus on getting a government job and asked him to quit playing cricket. But the son had made up his mind. His father was helpless at home due to financial problems.

Dhruv had mentioned in an interview, “I told my father that the cost of the cricket kit would be around 8,000 rupees, and he was shocked to hear that and asked me to quit playing cricket.” Buying a cricket kit without thinking for his retired army father was not common.

Later, Dhruv received support from his father. Seeing Dhruv’s interest and talent in cricket, his father started supporting him as well. Dhruv has played under-14 and under-16 age group cricket for Uttar Pradesh. After that, he was selected for the India under-19 team for the 2020 World Cup. From there, Dhruv never looked back. He was also made the vice-captain of the under-19 team for the country in 2020. Although his team lost in the final of the under-19 World Cup against Bangladesh, Dhruv won the under-19 Asia Cup as a captain. In the beginning of his career, Dhruv used to bowl spin, but his bowling was not particularly special. In such a situation, he tried his hand at wicketkeeping and impressed everyone in this role. Along with that, he also became a middle-order batsman and a wicketkeeper.

Dhruv Jurel came into discussion in IPL 2023. In 2022, Dhruv made his debut in the Ranji Trophy for Uttar Pradesh against Vidarbha and has played 15 first-class matches so far, scoring 790 runs, including one century and five half-centuries. His highest score is 249 runs. Dhruv has also played 10 List-A and 23 T20 matches. He was bought by Rajasthan Royals (RR) for 20 lakhs in the mega auction of IPL 2022.

However, he got his first opportunity in IPL 2023. Dhruv made his debut as an impact player against Punjab Kings in Guwahati on April 5, 2023. In his very first match, he played a blistering innings of 32 runs off 15 balls. Since then, he has been in the limelight. Dhruv has played 13 IPL matches so far, scoring 152 runs at a strike rate of 172.72, and Rajasthan has retained this explosive wicketkeeper-batsman for IPL 2024.

Being included in the Indian team is a big deal. Thanks to his excellent performance in first-class cricket, Dhruv has also earned a place in the India A team. He was part of the India A team that recently went on a tour to South Africa. Dhruv scored 69 runs in one of the four-day matches and also took three catches. After that, the selectors decided to give this young player an opportunity in the home series against England. Although he may not be the first choice as a wicketkeeper in the first two tests, the experience of being in the senior Indian men’s dressing room will be significant for this batsman born in Agra. Dhruv, a fan of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hopes to become a successful cricketer like this legendary player from Ranchi, following in his footsteps.

Dhoni is considered an ideal. Like Dhruv Dhoni, he also wants to captain the Indian team. He has acquired the skill of trapping opposing batsmen with patience and cleverness behind the wickets. Similarly, he considers AB de Villiers as his ideal in batting. In terms of fitness, he is as enthusiastic as Virat Kohli. After showcasing his talent in this year’s IPL, he now has the opportunity to showcase his talent to the country as well. With Rohit and Virat as role models, Dhruv, at the age of 22, still has plenty of time to nurture his talent.