Sunil Gavaskar compared Dhruv Jurel with MS Dhoni during the Ranchi Test. Ahead of the India vs England 5th Test, he clarified his statement.
Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar clarified his “…another MS Dhoni in the making” comment on young India wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel. During India’s first innings in the fourth Test against England in Ranchi, Jurel batted out of his skin with the tail to help the hosts get close to England’s total. Jurel, only in his second Test match, showed incredible character and match awareness during his 90-run knock, which was also the highest of India’s innings. When Jurel was mixing caution with aggression with the lower-order, Gavaskar compared him with Dhoni.
India’s Dhruv Jurel(PTI)
Needless to say, the comment went viral. Not often does a player of Gavaskar’s stature compare a youngster with a legend like Dhoni. But Jurel has been simply brilliant since his debut in Rajkot. The youngster from Uttar Pradesh backed up his 90-run effort in the first innings with another brilliant knock of 39* after coming to the crease India still needed 77 runs and were under pressure.
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When Jurel was informed about Gavaskar’s comments, he said: “Obviously it’s a good feeling to hear a legend like Sunil Gavaskar talk about me.”
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India won by the match 5 wickets to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. Ahead of the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala, Gavaskar was asked about the parallels he drew between Jurel and Dhoni. The former India captain said there can never be another Dhoni but Jurel has already showed signs of a bright future.
‘The way he thinks about the game, the way he assesses the situation and bats accordingly, gives me the MS Dhoni feels. He would hit a six in between and then look for ones and twos to rotate the strike… Even in keeping, the way he gathered that wayward throw and ran out Ben Duckett and then took a brilliant catch of Jimmy Anderson who went for the reverse sweep. When MS Dhoni was of his age, he too had the same situation awareness. And that is why I said, Jurel is like MS Dhoni. No one can become MS Dhoni. There is only one MS Dhoni. But if Jurel can manage to do even some portion of the things Dhoni did then it would be great for Indian cricket,” Gavaskar said on Sports Tak.
‘Jurel can be an option for T20 World Cup’: Gavaskar
Jurel, a member of India’s U19 World Cup team in 2020, shot into the limelight with a few brilliant cameos for the Rajasthan Royals in the last IPL. Gavaskar said if the 23-year-old can have a good IPL then he can definitely be an option for India in the T20 World Cup.
“He is definitely an option. A lot will depend on his IPL form. Form is very important. But the ease with which he is hitting sixes shows that he has the game for shorter formats. If he gets a chance then he will bat at No.5 or 6 only, as a finisher. We’ve seen how Dhoni did coming in to bat that number in the last 4-5 overs of the innings. The same will be expected from him.”
