Star India wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel has admitted that while in his younger days he was keen to score big and increase his numbers, experience on the biggest of stages has helped him understand that a team’s
win is more important than an individual’s milestones.
The other overnight batter Jurel, who resumed the final day of the first unofficial Test between India A and Australia A at 113, played well, adding 27 more runs before being dismissed by young right-arm pacer Fergus O’Neill for 140 off 197 deliveries.
By the time Jurel departed, India A were placed at 450/5 and when Devdutt Padikkal walked back to the dressing room, falling to the off-spin of Corey Rocchiccioli with the team total at 520/7, the only logical conclusion was a draw.
“Honestly, earlier, it mattered to me whether my score was 100 or 150. But now I understand that the team’s victory is more important. In first-class cricket, I have seven-eight (he has four) scores in the 90s, which could have been centuries,” Jurel said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.
“One of them was in the Ranchi Test [against England in February 2024], where I became Player of the Match and the team won the match. Cricket is a team game, and we play cricket so that the team wins,” Jurel added.
In Ranchi, playing just his second Test, the star Indian wicketkeeper scored 90 batting at No. 7 in the first innings, followed by an unbeaten 39 in the second, guiding India to a five-wicket victory over England.
Jurel, 24, broke into the India A setup in December 2023 during the South Africa tour, where he scored 69 in the second four-day game in Benoni. His performance earned him a place in the Test team for India’s subsequent home series against England.
“Staying with or around the [India] team definitely gives you confidence. I consider myself very lucky and privileged that I got the chance to play Tests for India and to be with the team,” Jurel said.
