India wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel now holds the India record of never being in a losing Test side. The Uttar Pradesh star has seen India win all five Tests he has played in, with the narrow, six-run victory
over England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at the Oval on Monday being the latest.
The overall record is held by the West Indies’ Eldine Baptiste, who played in ten Tests over a seven-year-long period and never lost any. He was a bowling all-rounder, but his stats don’t pop out — 16 wickets at 35.18 with no fifers and 233 runs at a batting average of 23.30 with the best of 87* — which explains the start-stop career.
Jurel’s case, so far, is similar. He made his debut against England at home last year when first-choice Rishabh Pant was recovering from his injuries suffered in the infamous car accident. He did well, scoring 190 runs in four innings at an average of 63.33. But Pant came back soon after, and Jurel was dropped.
because game changer player he is, only one guy @mdsirajofficial ❤️🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/P97z8xTL4z
— Dhruv Jurel (@dhruvjurel21) August 4, 2025
He again got a chance during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy when India were missing a few batters in the first Test in Perth, but couldn’t impress, scoring 11 (20) and 1 (6) in the two innings.
Dhruv Jurel’s England series
In England, his role was bigger but equally frustrating. Pant suffered a minor injury in the third Test while batting and didn’t keep wickets, so Jurel had to step in, without getting to bat. Pant returned full-time in the fourth Test but then fractured his foot while batting, and Jurel stepped in again.
Eventually, he was ruled out of the fifth Test and India brought in Jurel in the 11 after more than seven months. The ‘keeper performed better in tough conditions at the Oval but couldn’t make a statement, scoring 19 (40) and 34 (46).
His keeping was wobbly in some tough moments throughout the series but on the final day, with the ball hooping around the batters and India in a situation where they couldn’t afford to let any byes go, he was excellent.
