Team India’s highly-anticipated Test tour of Australia is all set to get underway on November 22 in Perth. The two teams are slated to square off in a five-match series for the first time in over three decades.
With 10 days remaining for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India’s team composition has become a major topic of debate as they are coming into the series on the back of a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home.
Meanwhile, former Australia skipper Tim Paine has advocated for young Dhruv Jurel’s inclusion in India’s playing XI for the Perth Test.
Jurel impressed Paine with knocks of 80 and 68 in India A’s second unofficial Test against Australia A at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"I don't know if you saw much of the highlights, but after seeing him bat – even though he's a wicket-keeper, from what I've seen on this tour and from India's batting in the last couple of months, I'd be staggered if he doesn't play," Paine said while talking to the Australian radio station SEN.
"He scored one of the more polished 80s I've seen, and we were all sitting around as staff of Cricket Australia and thought, 'Wow, this guy can seriously play!'"
Jurel made his debut for India during the five-match Test series against England earlier this year. He showcased his batting prowess by amassing 190 runs in four innings, including the Player-of-the-Match performance in Ranchi Test.
"He's 23 and he's played three Test matches, but he looked a class above all of his teammates, to be fair, and handled the pace and bounce really well, which can be unusual for an Indian player," Paine added.
"Keep an eye out for him this summer. I think he's going to impress a lot of Australian fans."
In the home season against Bangladesh and New Zealand, Dhruv Jurel was a back-up for wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. But considering India are likely to be without captain Rohit Sharma in Perth, the team management might think out of the box to have Jurel open with Yashasvi Jaiswal. If not that, he could still find a spot in India's middle-order as a specialist batter.
"Even though it's going to be another step up against the big three (Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood), it looks like he has the game to play Test cricket," Paine concluded.
