Dhruv Jurel is the man of the hour. India were in deep trouble on Day 2 of the fourth Test between India and England in Ranchi. But an unlikely hero emerged to save the day.
After England posted 353 runs on the board in their first innings, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was holding one end firmly as India looked to eat into the deficit.
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However, Jaiswal was dismissed against the run of play with the scorecard reading 'India 160-5'. At that stage, India were still 193 runs behind. In walked Jurel. Having just lost their best batsman in this series, the host lost two more quick wickets in the form of Sarfaraz Khan and Ravichandran Ashwin. India were suffocated at 177-7. The tail was exposed.
But Jurel stood tall, scoring 90 runs off 149 balls, which included a brilliant 76-run partnership for the 8th wicket with Kuldeep Yadav. Eventually, India were all out for 307, but the lead England had, 46 runs, was much, much lesser than they would have hoped for after locking India into submission at one stage.
If his 46-run knock on his debut in the third Test drew praise, his display in Ranchi made everyone stand up in sheer awe and applaud the player who might not have just saved the Test, but also prevented the series from being levelled.
While Jurel's outputs so far has been assuring and full of promise, the story about the hard yards he put in to reach where he is right now deserves to be heard by everyone.
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18 months of all-format prep: The reason behind Dhruv Jurel's success
It has been a tremendous past 12 months for Jurel, who shot to limelight with his powerful cameos in the Rajasthan Royals' middle-order in his debut season in IPL 2023.
Simultaneously, the player was making waves for Uttar Pradesh on the domestic front, fast-tracking his inclusion into the India A sides.
However, over the last year and a half, the 23-year-old has been following a strenuous practice routing. Right before making his Test debut, Jurel batted for 140 overs everyday at Rajasthan Royals' High Performance Academy (RR HPC) in Talegaon.
In an interview with PTI, Zuran Bharucha, who played for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and is also RR's High Performance Director, explained Jurel's training regime.
We have been preparing for the last 18 months taking the version (T20, ODIs or Test matches) out of the equation and the practice and merely focusing on the how and where runs can be scored.
Just before the (debut) Test match he came to the RR HPC in Talegaon and batted for 140 overs in a day, it took over four hours on different spinning surfaces. It was a monumental practice session, one of the few that matched Jaiswal's long sessions.
Bharucha further elaborated on the process:
All (bowlers and throwdown men) are standing there at the same time. And the sequence is one throws for the flick. Next one for the cut. Next one for the pull. Next one for the straight drive. We do this on multiple surfaces (spinning, grass, bounce, wet cement), with multiple types of balls (rubber, tennis, cricket) and multiple types of bats (heavy/light/thin etc).
Within this also we have one bunch who do it with the hand and the next bunch who do it with the wanger (throwdown apparatus Roboarm). Behind them are the spinners, and behind them the fast bowlers.
So, one round in the nets would comprise around 14 people throwing, wanging and bowling, as opposed to the traditional way, where you may have like three spinners and three fast bowlers (for example) bowling one round. That's how we got through 140 overs in a day's practice for Dhruv.
To say that the amount of time, effort, and energy Jurel spent in order to be ready for his Test debut is outrageous would be an understatement.
Jurel can be the hallmark for all upcoming cricketers, who should believe in achieving whatever they want by idolising the hardworking nature of Jurel and implementing it in their own regimes.
What next for Dhruv Jurel?
Jurel's 90-run knock could prove to be the difference between India and England in the fourth Test. Heading into Day 4, India need 152 runs with 10 wickets in hand.
After the conclusion of this Test series, Jurel will be seen in action for RR in IPL 2024. While he hasn't made his debut in white-ball cricket for India, an exceptional individual campaign in the upcoming IPL edition could open the doors for an unlikely spot in India's Twenty20 World Cup squad.
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