File picture of Dhruv Jurel and M.S. Dhoni
He would possibly be drawing comparisons with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, however wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel on March 15 mentioned no person can fairly match up to the previous India captain and he would quite focus on carving his personal area of interest in worldwide cricket.
Jurel, who made his Test debut in the course of the recently-concluded sequence towards England, was sharp behind the wickets, stable with the bat and fairly instinctive whereas guiding captain Rohit Sharma throughout DRS calls.
His assured efficiency prompted the legendary Sunil Gavaskar to examine Jurel with Dhoni, however the 23-year-old, who is the son of a Kargil struggle veteran, begged to differ.
“Thank you so much Gavaskar sir for comparing me with Dhoni sir. But I want to say personally that no one can replicate what Dhoni sir has done,” Jurel mentioned on the ‘India Today Conclave’ right here.
“There is only one Dhoni. Always was and always will be. For me, I just want to be Dhruv Jurel. Whatever I do, I want to do as Dhruv Jurel. But Dhoni sir is a legend and he will always remain like that,” added the younger wicketkeeper-batter.
Jurel known as Tests the “purest” type of the sport and mentioned getting the India cap was a dream come true for him.
“It (getting the Test cap and getting the man of the match) hasn’t yet sunk in. It was a pleasure to play Tests, the purest form of cricket. I was sure that I would play Test cricket some day and it has been a dream-come-true moment for me.” “I always wanted to play Tests. When I was playing U-19, my goal was to play 200 Tests, which I later realised was not possible,” mentioned the teen, who on the age of 12, travelled alone to a cricket academy in Noida for coaching from his Agra residence.
Jurel additionally dismissed comparisons between Test cricket and Indian Premier League as unrealistic.
“(For me) IPL has not reduced the love for (Test) cricket. When I got the baggy cap (India Test cap), it was a different feeling altogether. There is no contest whatsoever (between the two). Test cricket is at a different level,” he mentioned.
On whether or not he fancies his possibilities of making the squad for the T20 World Cup within the West Indies and the USA, Jurel mentioned he wasn’t considering up to now forward. The World Cup is to be held in June.
“To be honest, I don’t have to think much; let’s just control the controllables,” he mentioned.
Jurel additionally praised the BCCI’s latest transfer to reward these enjoying extra Test matches, saying it was a “great initiative” however he was nonetheless attempting to work out the rise in perks.
It was an emotional second for Jurel when his father, Nem Chand, who was additionally current among the many visitors on the conclave, saluted his son for bringing laurels to the nation.
“Dad was in the (Indian) Army. He wanted me to join the special forces and prepare for the NDA (National Defence Academy exams). Dad was disciplined in diet and training.
“(But) he was not in favour of cricket. So I didn’t inform dad (initially) that I had began enjoying cricket. He tried to persuade me to proceed with teachers. Then I approached my mom and tried to deliver each on the identical web page.
“Finally, he agreed to get me a slogger bat made of Kashmir willow. When I wanted a kit worth ₹5000-6000, my mom said she would sell her gold chain to get me one,” he recalled a well-documented anecdote from his childhood.
