Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine was impressed with Indian wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel’s batting in the match between India A and Australia A ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, Jurel played in the second India A-Australia A game in Melbourne and scored a brilliant 186-ball 80 after walking in to bat at 11-4 as well.

Speaking on SEN Tassie, Paine praised Jurel’s batting and backed him to shine in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

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“There’s a guy who has wicket kept in a few Test matches for India. He averages 63 out of the three Tests he’s played, and his name is Dhruv Jurel. He scored one of the more polished 80s I’ve seen, and we were all sitting around as staff of Cricket Australia and thought, ‘Wow, this guy can seriously play. I don’t know if you saw much of the highlights, but after seeing him bat (against Australia A) – even though he’s a wicketkeeper, from what I’ve seen on this tour and from India’s batting in the last couple of months, I’d be staggered if he doesn’t play,” Paine added.

However, Tim Paine also felt Dhruv Jurel looked in a different class compared to the other India A batters in the match against Australia A.
The India A side included many impressive youngsters like Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad as well.

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“He’s 23 and he’s played three Test matches, but he looked a class above all of his teammates, to be fair, and handled the pace and bounced really well, which can be unusual for an Indian player. Keep an eye out for him this summer. I think he’s going to impress a lot of Australian fans. Even though it’s going to be another step up against the big three (of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood), he looks like he has the game to play Test cricket,” Tim Paine concluded.