Dhruv Jurel’s performances impressed the Indian team management enough to try him out as a speciallist batter in their recently concluded two-match Test series at home against South Africa. It didn’t really result in rich returns, with Jurel managing scores of 14, 13, 0 and two and India stunningly losing the series 2-0, but Jurel has continued to show just how special a talent he is in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. Jurel continues to be in the conversation more in red-ball cricket than in the limited overs formats for India, having been left out of the squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup, but the 24-year-old has said that he is happy to be called a Test cricketer. “I’m always excited to play red-ball cricket and am very fortunate to have played Tests for India. Test cricket has its own value. When you go abroad and people call you a Test cricketer, it feels good,” Jurel is quoted as saying by the Times of India. Jurel said that he is already thinking about India’s next Test series, which will be in Sri Lanka in August 2026. “Red-ball is close to my heart and brings a different kind of respect. I’m already thinking about our series in Sri Lanka in 7-8 months, how I can prepare, the sessions we get with spinners, how I can tackle spin better. These little things — the planning and visualisation — keep going on,” said Jurel. Jurel has been among the top performers in the early exchanges of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. The UP batter has smashed 307 runs in three innings, scoring a century and two half-centuries. Jurel has struck at an astonishing 140.18. Jurel has scored 459 runs in 15 Test innings with a century and a half-century, averaging 35.30. Jurel’s maiden Test century came in India’s series against the West Indies, which came before the one against South Africa. That innings came in the middle of a run of four hundreds in eight first-class innings, including one in each innings of India A’s second unofficial Test against South Africa A in Bengaluru.
‘Feels good when you go abroad and people call you a Test cricketer’: Dhruv Jurel already thinking of 2026 Sri Lanka series
