Former cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra reckons India should play both Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant together in their Test XI instead of choosing only one.
Chopra’s comment came amid the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, where the duo shared a critical 112-run seventh-wicket partnership. Jurel anchoring the lower order scored a brilliant unbeaten 115, while Pant provided his trademark X-factor with a brisk knock of 63.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra recommended playing Pant as the primary wicketkeeper-batter and fielding Jurel purely as a specialist middle-order batter at No. 6.
He questioned the tactical necessity of crowding the lower order with bowling all-rounders like Nitish Kumar Reddy or Washington Sundar just for extended batting depth.
"There is an ongoing debate on whether Dhruv Jurel or Rishabh Pant should be kept. Which way should India go if they have to play only one? I wonder why to play only one? Until now, we were playing so many bowlers who could also bat, whether it's Nitish Kumar Reddy or Washington Sundar," Chopra said.
"We were stopping at five batters. After that, you could see Washi at No. 6, Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7, and Nitish Kumar Reddy at No. 8, or the other way around, which I thought wasn't a good idea. You need a batter at No. 6. In my opinion, it's not a question at all," he added.
According to Chopra, Jurel has virtually sealed his place as the No. 6 batter. "It's actually an answer that Dhruv Jurel has been playing and scoring runs consistently, and there was no big name who was waiting for him to be played. In such a scenario, Dhruv Jurel is a certainty now, and let him be," he observed.
In the same YouTube video, Aakash Chopra highlighted Rishabh Pant’s stellar record in the longest format while also citing that the southpaw has made himself undroppable.
"I asked for Rishabh Pant's numbers to be brought out. He has scored the most centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper. He has scored eight. Most centuries by a wicketkeeper in England. He has scored four. Most sixes for India in Tests. He has hit 102. Most runs for India in WTC. It's become 2,948," Chopra stated.
"Most 50-plus scores for India in WTC - 24. Most sixes for India in WTC - 82. Second-most sixes in WTC history. Ben Stokes has played many more matches. Rishabh Pant has the best average among Indians who have scored more than 2,000 runs at No. 5. He has an average of more than 55. So, let's end that story here. I was reading these numbers so that you realize that there is no conversation," he remarked.
