Dhruv Jurel at crossroads as Sri Lanka series offers Test career lifeline

Dhruv Jurel faces a crucial Test audition against Sri Lanka after a string of modest scores and repeated dismissals to spin. With Sarfaraz Khan competing for his batting slot, Jurel needs to adapt quickly to Galle’s conditions and deliver

Galle: Dhruv Jurel was a picture of concentration in the nets at the sweltering Galle, middling almost everything that came his way from pacers and spinners alike.

Prior to that, he was an active presence in the fielding practice session, taking some tumbling catches at the cordon.

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Jurel’s enthusiasm actually belied the career cross-road that he is standing currently.

After a rather assured 100 against the West Indies at Ahmedabad in October last year, his next Test outings have produced — 44, 6, 14, 13, 0, 2, 19.

More worryingly, he has been dismissed five times by spinners in those seven outings, and he will face an even more daunting task in the first Test here against the Sri Lankan tweakers, led by the irrepressible Prabath Jayasuriya.

The inclusion of Sarfaraz Khan, who bats at the same slot as Jurel, is a warning for the wicketkeeper batter to tidy up his act or get replaced.

Sarfaraz has a wider range of shots against spinners — sweep, reverse sweep, shimmy down the track mixed with those late dabs and cuts past the point or gully fielders.

In contrast, Jurel waits for spinners to err to punish them, as he prefers a more risk-free approach. It may have its own advantages on rather flat pitches, but on a deck that offers variable bounce or turn, like the one at Galle, it is fraught with danger.

It’s not really much about lack of skill sets but rather more about changing the modus operandi to suit the conditions.

So, it was not surprising to watch Jurel spending a bit of time with senior batter KL Rahul, who is the only batter to have Test experience on these shores, at nets.

Rahul prepared extensively for this tour on specially prepared muddy pitches at Mumbai, and Jurel would certainly have wanted to pick his brain.

India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel underlined Rahul’s role as a senior pro in the side.

“You can explore and discuss and come up with the best combination. Experience is always handy. I think KL, the last couple of years the way he’s been leading up front with batting has been exceptional.

“That’s a sort of communication that we expect from him, to speak to the guys here in the preparation at the nets as to what to expect here,” said Morkel.

But the former South African pacer knows that Jurel will have to find his own path in the middle.

“I think the guys have learned a lot about their games individually over the last couple of months and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve come out here 10 days earlier to give them the best opportunity to prepare.

“Now it is all about figuring out how they’re gonna score on the surface here,” Morkel said, alluding to the spin-friendly nature of the Galle surface.

Jurel has shown some spark in the lead up to the series, scoring a hundred and fifty for India A at this very same venue against a capable Sri Lanka A side, and those memories should instil some confidence into him.

There is a flip side to it, though, as it is a familiar trait of Jurel.

The right-hander was in pristine touch in a side game ahead of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

However, his subsequent outing at Perth ended up in disappointment. He now needs to produce better numbers to vindicate his selection as a pure batter with Rishabh Pant being the first-choice wicketkeeper batter.

Will Jurel be able to buck that trend against Sri Lanka? He has to, as it holds key to his immediate future in Tests.