Kargil war veteran’s son Dhruv Jurel picks cricket as a way of serving the nation

Dhruv's father Nem Singh served in the 1999 Kargil war in the Jat Regiment.

Dhruv Jurel, the 18-year-old cricketer will lead the India U19 side in the U-19 Youth Asia Cup in Colombo next month. Little do people know that his father, Nem Singh Jurel is a Kargil war veteran, who fought in the Jat Regiment and wanted his son to join the National Defence Academy (NDA) after finishing school.

However, Dhruv was enamored with cricket and has made big steps in the game. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who hails from Agra, had his coaches swooning with his ability to hit big shots and with some brilliant work behind the stumps. “I relish opportunities when you walk out to bat with your team in trouble… that’s the kind of challenge I look forward to,” Dhruv told Indian Express.

He was speaking of his brilliant 59* which helped India U19 chase down 262 against Bangladesh in the tri-nation tournament final at Hove in England.

His father Nem Singh says, “It’s all about doing something for your country. I served the Army during the Kargil war, before retiring in 2008. Now, my son is also serving his country as a cricketer. Even though it’s a different field, the purpose is the same.”

His 14-year-old son smashed a scarcely- believable 21-ball 100 in a local T20 match in Agra. “His coach (Yadav) called me up to congratulate me. But when I asked Dhruv about that knock, he didn’t seem too excited. He told me ‘papa, woh ground bahut chota hain’. That was the day I realized that my son could become a cricketer because there was this burning desire to excel.”

His coach Phoolchand Sharma, who operates a cricket academy in Billabong High School in Sector-34, Noida, says, “When he came to my academy three years ago, I didn’t know who he was. But he impressed me with his wicket-keeping and batting, so I decided to persist with him. Soon, he was playing in all the club tournaments in Delhi. He became a regular in Sandeep Suri as well as the Khalsa College T20 tournaments. In just 12 months, he got the exposure which he would not have got had he stayed back in Agra.”

“He is a true all-rounder in the sense that he has the game to play any kind of knock and has the confidence and temperament to pull it off in the match. That’s a rare talent to have for someone so young,” Sharma gushes.

Though it might be too early to say that Jurel might be the next MS Dhoni, his father wants him to complete his education before diving fully into cricket. He says, “I want my son to complete his formal education. After graduating from the Army School last year, he has taken a break to pursue cricket. I hope he gets enrolled into a college by next year.”

(With Indian Express inputs)