Batting great Sunil Gavaskar has put the comparison market to rest with his fresh comment on Dhruv Jurel. After Dhruv Jurel's batting exploits in Ranchi Test against England Gavaskar had said that young Indian wicketkeeper-batter can be another MS Dhoni in the making. Jurel, in only his second Test match, played a pivotal role during India's first innings in the fourth Test against England in Ranchi, batting impressively alongside the tail-enders to narrow the gap to England's score. His outstanding 90-run knock, the highest for India in that match, displaying exceptional composure and game sense.
Dhruv Jurel compared with MS Dhoni
Gavaskar made the comparison as Jurel adeptly balanced defense and attack with the lower order.
The comparison quickly caught the public's attention, a rare occurrence for someone of Gavaskar's acclaim to draw parallels between a budding talent and a cricketing giant like MS Dhoni. Since his debut in Rajkot, Jurel, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, has been remarkable. Following his commendable 90 runs in the first innings, he delivered another crucial performance of 39* in the second innings, stepping in when India was chasing a challenging 77 runs under pressure.
However, days after making a big statement on Jurel, during an exclusive interaction with Sports Tak, Gavaskar made it clear that no one can become MS Dhoni.
"The way he thinks about the game, the way he assesses the situation and bats accordingly, gives me the MS Dhoni feels. He would hit a six in between and then look for ones and twos to rotate the strike... Even in keeping, the way he gathered that wayward throw and ran out Ben Duckett and then took a brilliant catch of Jimmy Anderson who went for the reverse sweep. When MS Dhoni was of his age, he too had the same situation awareness. And that is why I said, Jurel is like MS Dhoni. No one can become MS Dhoni. There is only one MS Dhoni. But if Jurel can manage to do even some portion of the things Dhoni did then it would be great for Indian cricket," Gavaskar told on Sports Tak.
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Gavaskar suggests Jurel as a potential pick for T20 World Cup
Having made a name for himself with several impressive performances for the Rajasthan Royals in the recent IPL, Dhruv Jurel, who was part of India's U19 World Cup squad in 2020, has caught the eye of many, including Sunil Gavaskar. Gavaskar believes that if the 23-year-old has a strong IPL season, he could very well be considered for selection in India's squad for the T20 World Cup.
"He is definitely an option. A lot will depend on his IPL form. Form is very important. But the ease with which he is hitting sixes shows that he has the game for shorter formats. If he gets a chance then he will bat at No.5 or 6 only, as a finisher. We've seen how Dhoni did coming in to bat that number in the last 4-5 overs of the innings. The same will be expected from him," Gavaskar concluded.
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