Dhruv Jurel, 22, received his first call-up as a backup wicketkeeper as the BCCI revealed the Indian team for the opening two Test matches against England.
The first two Test matches between India and England begin on January 25. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced their 16-man team on Friday night. Dhruv Jurel, 22, received his first call-up as a backup wicketkeeper because Ishan Kishan, who had reportedly taken a break from cricket due to mental exhaustion, was not included in the team.
The roster also does not include veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami as he continues to recover from the ankle injury he incurred during the 2023 ODI World Cup campaign in November last year. Though the selectors likely wanted him to take more time off as a precaution before the last few games of the series against England, he was upbeat about rejoining the Test team.
Prasidh Krishna, who took two wickets for 130 runs in the two games of the Test series in South Africa, is not included in the fast-bowling lineup other than Shami. The bowler suffered a quadriceps injury on the opening day of Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat in Ahmedabad, it was previously reported on Friday.
In the meantime, Avesh Khan is still a member of the team. Prior to the encounter in Cape Town, he was called up to the main squad based on his performance for India A during the South Africa tour. As a result, Avesh joins players like Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, and vice skipper Jasprit Bumrah to create a familiar-looking yet potent pace attack for India, while Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav make up the spin combination.
The surprising inclusion of cricketer Dhruv Jurel from Uttar Pradesh in the squad is that he will provide backup wicketkeeping to KL Rahul, who has taken wickets in both the Test series match against South Africa and the match against KS Bharat. The youthful player participated in two games in December of last year between the India A squad and their South African counterparts.Jurel scored 69 in the second Benoni match, and he struck 63 for Uttar Pradesh against Kerala in the Ranji Trophy’s first round group match. The 22-year-old, who made his First-Class debut against Vidarbha last year, has amassed 790 runs at an average of 46 from 15 matches thus far on the local circuit, including five fifty-fives.
In the current World Test Championship cycle, this will be India’s third assignment and first domestically. They had previously held hosts South Africa to a 1-1 tie in a two-match series earlier this year, and they had won the two-match series in the West Indies 1-0 following the draw in the second game.
Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and