"I feel it is a huge risk if they rush him back" - Brad Hogg feels India should continue with Dhruv Jurel even after Rishabh Pant's comeback

Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg is of the opinion that India need to continue picking Dhruv Jurel as their specialist wicketkeeper even when Rishabh Pant makes a comeback to competitive cricket.

Pant is yet to be back in cricketing action after a horrific car accident back in December 2022. Hogg reckons the southpaw will need to first go back and play domestic cricket to build endurance needed to play Test cricket.

In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Brad Hogg had to say about Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant (59:40):

"I think they will keep with Jurel and not go back to Pant quickly. I think they will make him go and play some first-class cricket in the longest format so that they make sure his body can withstand it and make sure from a batting perspective he still has the ability that he had before the accident.

"I really hope that Pant gets back to playing Test cricket, but I feel it is a huge risk if they rush him back."

Brad Hogg is also delighted to see the youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, and Sarfaraz Khan step up. He feels India need to stick to these youngsters and not take backward steps. Hogg believes these players will get even better, playing with senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli around.

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Pujara's role is slowly getting driven away from Tests: Brad Hogg

Brad Hogg understands that the decision to move towards youngsters could be tough on the likes of veteran Cheteshwar Pujara, who continues to plunder runs in domestic cricket. However, he explained why he feels the tempo at which Pujara bats is not suited to Test cricket anymore.

On this, Hogg stated (28:30):

"You have to win matches to get to the WTC final. Having that batter who just bats for a long time might sometime take away that opportunity especially if you go away from the subcontinent and come over to wickets of Australia and South Africa.

"You got to have more aggressive players in that aspect. I think the Pujara role is slowly getting driven away from the game."

Probably the only fresh face among the batters who hasn't been impressive is Rajat Patidar. It will be interesting to see if India gives Patidar a chance to redeem himself in the fifth Test at Dharamsala.