Devdutt Padikkal made 167 while Dhruv Jurel made 51 in 68 balls in ongoing Galle Test.
Mukund’s words came after Indian batters did well in the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka, being played in Galle from August 15 onwards. Both Jurel and Padikkal were part of India A for the tour of Sri Lanka ahead of the Test series and had impressive campaigns.
Jurel scored a quick 51 off 68, and Devdutt Padikkal, who was undefeated on 131 overnight, went on to score 167. Their contributions, along with 82 from KL Rahul, took India to 462 runs in their first innings.
"For players who are just trying to break into the side, for someone like Dhruv Jurel, a shadow tour was extremely beneficial. Look at Devdutt Padikkal's runs now, who also had a fabulous tour. So, these shadow tours are something that I'm very excited about. It's an important part of development for a player.
Even though India and Sri Lanka are not too far away, not in different time zones, the ball is different. The way they play cricket is different. It's an island where you've got breeze blowing certain parts of the day; you've got to adjust to the rain. I think it's all an experience," Mukund said on Cricinfo.
Jurel scored 208 runs in three innings during the unofficial Test series against Sri Lanka A, while Padikkal contributed 173 runs in three innings.
Mukund noted that Jurel has to turn his starts into significant scores while complimenting his technique and temperament during his innings in the Galle Test.
Jurel has been selected as a pure batter in the middle order because Rishabh Pant is the team's keeper-batter. Mukund believes the young player will need to score runs in the same manner as a front-line hitter.
"I really like the look of Dhruv Jurel, and I've got a lot of time for him as a Test match batter. But he's really got to understand what it means to be a pure batter. He's not the wicket-keeper batter in this side. He needs to score big runs for him to retain his place in the side,” Mukund said.
Jurel has played 10 Tests before the Galle match, scoring 478 runs with one century and one fifty at an average of 34.14, with a highest score of 125.