India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate on Wednesday confirmed that Dhruv Jurel will be part of the playing eleven alongside Rishabh Pant for the first Test against South Africa, which begins at Eden Gardens on Friday.
After scoring his maiden Test hundred in the 2-0 series win over the West Indies, Jurel continued his rich form for India A, hitting unbeaten knocks of 132 and 127 in the second four-day game against South Africa A at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru last week.
There had been uncertainty over Jurel’s place in the side following Pant’s return from a fractured right foot, but his consistent performances with the bat appear to have sealed his spot. The two last featured together in the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Perth.
“I don’t think you can leave him out for this Test — that’s the short answer. But obviously, you can only pick 11 as well, so someone else will have to miss out,” ten Doeschate said at a press conference. “Given the way Dhruv has gone in the last six months, scoring two hundreds in Bengaluru last week, he’s certain to play this week.”
Referring to India’s spin-bowling options, the former Netherlands all-rounder added, “Like I mentioned about Washi, Axar, and Jadu — for me, you’ve actually got three batters there, so it gives us a lot of flexibility. I’d be very surprised if you don’t see Dhruv and Rishabh playing together in this Test.”
With Jurel set to retain his place, ten Doeschate hinted that seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy might not make the cut for the series opener against the reigning World Test Championship winners.
“Strategy comes first. The primary thing is to set out a plan to win the game, and then, if possible, give players a chance for development,” he said. “Nitish didn’t get much game time in Australia. But given the importance of the series and the conditions we expect, he might miss out in this Test.”
IANS