NOT Rishabh Pant! Former Australia Captain Hails THIS Indian WK-Batsman As 'Key Player' For BGT 2024-25

Former Australia skipper has hailed THIS Indian wicket-keeper to shine in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, as India and Australia gear up for the first Test match. Read below.

Dhruv Jurel has so far played only 3 Test matches for India

Source : PTI

BGT 2024-25: India and Australia are gearing up for the first Test of the 5-match Test series in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, as a place in the Wolrd Test Championship2025 Final is on the line.

India are coming off a historic 3-0 series defeat at home against New Zealand, as the side suffered their first-ever Test series whitewash on home soil.

On the other hand, Australia are coming off a 2-1 ODI series defeat against Pakistan, thereby, handing the Asian side their first series win on Australian soil since 2002.

Former Australia captain Tim Paine, who was the skipper during Australia's historic BGT series defeats on home soil against India in 2018-19 and 2020-21 editions, has hailed Dhruv Jurel as a key batsman for the Indian side ahead of the series.

The former Australia keeper has chosen Dhruv Jurel ahead the likes of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as main wicket-keeper batsman of India, stating his recent heroics against Australia-A as key reason behind this ideation.

"I don't know if you saw much of the highlights, but after seeing him bat (against Australia A) – 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. 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’," said Tim Paine, as reported by ICC.

"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. Keep an eye out for him this summer. I think he's going to impress a lot of Australian fans. Even though it’s going to be another step up against the big three (Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood), he looks like he has the game to play Test cricket," he added.

Dhruv Jurel's Impressive Outing Against Australia-A

India-A were swept away by the Australia-A side in the two-match unofficial Test series, as Nathan McSweeney's side were a class apart from the Indian side on all fronts.

On a surface where every Indian batter faltered, Dhruv Jurel stood tall, as he averaged 74 across both innings. No other Indian batter managed to score even a half-century, whereas, the wicket-keeper batsman managed to score 80 in the first innings, followed by a 68-run knock in the 2nd innings.