Dhruv Jurel shows he has the chops to be India’s No. 6

Dhruv Jurel joined the India A team in Melbourne a couple of days ago. On Thursday, when he walked out to bat in the second and final ‘unofficial’ test against Australia A at the MCG, his team was staring at humiliation. The India A top four had been removed in no time, with the visitors slumping to 11-4 by the third over.
But India A found a saviour in Jurel, who joined the squad along with KL Rahul after India’s Test series against New Zealand. Playing his first long-format match Down Under, the 23-year-old did not look out of place on the pace-friendly MCG track, batting with assurance to score a fighting 80 (186 balls; 6×4, 2×6).
On a day when the top-order batters, including opener Rahul, danced to the tune of the Aussie pacers, Jurel tackled the quicks with a knock of substance, singlehandedly guiding the tourists to 161 in their first innings. In response, Australia A stood at 53-2 at stumps.With his battling performance in challenging conditions, Jurel will definitely be one of the contenders for a first XI spot when India play Australia in Perth from Nov 22. Operating with great temperament and mixing caution with aggression, he displayed an array of strokes, be it back-foot punches, square cuts, cover drives, flicks or pull shots. But the one that really stood out was the upper-cut that he played off Michael Neser over the slips’ head for a four — it was a reminder to the team management that one thing the Uttar Pradesh player doesn’t lack is courage.
With Sarfaraz Khan failing in four back-to-back innings against New Zealand, the No. 6 slot in the Indian team has opened up. That Jurel, also a wicketkeeper, was made to travel early indicates that he is very much in the scheme of things for the marquee assignment.
Brief scores: India A 161 in 57.1 overs (Jurel 80; Neser 4-27) vs Aus A 53-2 in 17.1 overs.