Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant will take the field together as Team India face South Africa at the Eden Gardens (Images via Screengrabs/X, Getty) India batsman Dhruv Jurel has played down any talk of a rivalry with Rishabh Pant ahead of the opening Test against South Africa, saying both players have the same goal of helping India win. Ahead of the Kolkata series, Jurel said, “There is no competition between me and Rishabh bhai. We both play for India and whoever plays, the motive is the same: to make India win. If he plays, I am happy. If I play, I am happy. If we play together, it will be even better. The only focus is the team.”
Ryan Ten Doeschate press conference: On India Playing XI, Dhruv Jurel, workload management and more
The 24-year-old, who replaced Pant during his injury lay-off, has been in red-hot form over the past year. His consistent performances, including a maiden Test century against the West Indies in Ahmedabad, cemented his place in the Indian set-up. “As a cricketer, the best feeling is when I feel accomplished when you have done something for your team and they have won,” he told JioStar. Jurel also spoke of the challenge ahead as he praised both teams’ speed attacks ahead of the Eden Gardens Test. “It will be a very exciting battle. Both teams have strong fast bowling attacks. Be it Rabada and Marco Jansen from their side or Bumrah bhai from our side, the quality is all around,” he added. India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate recently confirmed that Jurel is expected to feature in the playing eleven for the first Test. “I would be very surprised if you don’t see Dhruv and Rishabh playing in this Test this week. With the way Dhruv has been in the last six months and scoring two hundreds in Bengaluru last week, it is certain that he will play this week,” Ten Doeschate told the pre-match press conference. The two-Test series marks South Africa’s first visit to India for red-ball cricket since 2019, when India finished 3–0. The inaugural Test begins on November 14 at the Eden Gardens, followed by the second in Guwahati from November 22.
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With both Pant and Jurel in top form, India’s combination behind the stumps and in the middle order promises to be one of the most watched aspects of the series.Indian squad for the first Test: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Kuldeep Yadav,Unit of South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne
