Jurel finished the series with 173 runs at an outstanding average of 86.50.
Former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar heaped praise on Dhruv Jurel for his old-fashioned, orthodox composure down the order during India’s recently concluded Test tour of Sri Lanka.
Jurel, a second wicketkeeper who has batted his way into a specialist's spot, scored a brilliant unbeaten 115 in the second Test in Colombo. He finished the series with 173 runs at an outstanding average of 86.50.
While Manjrekar was impressed with his performance in Sri Lanka, he wondered how Jurel would fare in the upcoming away Test series against New Zealand.
"In Devdutt Padikkal, India have found a very good No.3. Then Dhruv Jurel, a steady influence on a team packed with Rishabh Pant and other attacking players. This is a guy who is pretty orthodox and old-fashioned and cashes in on starts, making the 40s and 50s into big hundreds. We'll see how he goes in New Zealand and whether he bats in that position or somewhere else," Manjrekar said in a video shared on his Instagram handle.
Padikkal was named Player-of-the-Series after scoring 328 runs at a staggering average of 109.33, which included centuries in both matches. The southpaw grabbed his opportunity at one-drop after Sai Sudharsan was ruled out of the series with a toe injury. He also earned the Player-of-the-Match in the first Test as India won the game by 195 runs.
According to Manjrekar, left-arm spinner Manav Suthar was the find of the series in the bowling department for India.
"Manav Suthar is the perfect foil for Jadeja. Manav Suthar's true value will be seen on pitches that aren't obvious turners, especially pitches in Australia and South Africa, where there is more bounce. Because of his overspin, he's the kind of bowler India have always needed," he opined.
Manjrekar believes Shubman Gill’s men accepted that the second Test would end in a draw on Day 5 despite being in a commanding position at the start of the day.
India were in a dominant position to clean-sweep the two-match series. After bowling Sri Lanka out for 212 in the first innings, the tourists enforced the follow-on.
Trailing heavily, Sri Lanka staged a massive second-innings fightback, reaching 429/9 by Day 5. Young batter Sonal Dinusha became India's ultimate nemesis. He scored an extraordinary unbeaten 133 on the final day, batting for over 420 minutes. This was his third century of the two-Test series.
"When the Indian players realized they were not going to win the second Test, there was acceptance. But it wasn't one of resignation, or they didn't give up the match. It was acceptance out of appreciation for the opposition and one guy, Sonal Dinusha," Manjrekar remarked.