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Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach Kumar Sangakkara recently hailed Dhruv Jurel for his work ethic and demeanor. The comments came after the youngster was selected to the Indian squad for the first two Tests against England.
Jurel is coming off an impressive showing in the recent India A tour of South Africa, scoring a well-compiled 69 in Benoni. He also performed admirably for RR in IPL 2023 despite batting down the order in high-pressure situations. He scored 152 runs at an excellent strike rate of over 172 in 13 matches.
In an interview with ANI News after Jurel's selection to the Indian Test squad, Sangakkara spoke about the youngster's best qualities. He said:
"Firstly his work ethic and his demeanor. He understands pressure, he came last season in one of the most difficult positions and scored so many runs for us. An absolute match winner in the short format but this is a really good test of his technique, character and application being in the Test side. He's always going to do well, he's just that kind of player."
Despite Dhruv Jurel's several heroic cameos, RR missed the playoffs and finished fifth on the points table last year.
Team India announced a 16-member squad for the first two Tests against England, with KL Rahul, KS Bharat, and Dhruv Jurel as wicketkeepers.
"Key motivation and performance indicators away from the IPL is producing players for India" - Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara stated that a primary goal for the Rajasthan Royals is to produce as many players for the national side as possible.
The most recent example is Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has immediately impressed at the international level after a stellar campaign in IPL 2023. After scoring 625 runs in last year's IPL, the 22-year-old was fast-tracked to debut in the Test and T20I format for India.
The youngster has lived up to his billing, averaging over 45 in four Tests and 33.07 at a strike rate of 159.25 in 15 T20Is.
"One of our (RR) key motivation and performance indicators away from the IPL is producing players for India. We've produced quite a lot over the years and Dhruv being a new addition, he's a really good player who has worked very hard to get to where he has. The fact he has gone through our development camps and ended up in the Test side is fantastic," said Sangakkara.
When asked if he was slightly surprised over Jurel's selection in Tests ahead of the white-ball formats, Sangakkara said:
"That's up to their selectors to decide how to construct their red and white ball sides. Our job is to produce the best players possible who can stand a chance in any format."
Jurel boasts an outstanding first-class record with an average of 46.47 in 15 games, including the number skyrocketing to 71.50 in the previous Ranji Trophy season.
The first Test between India and England in Hyderabad will begin on January 25.
