Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 21 : Ahead of the first Test against Australia at Perth, Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel opened up on his first experience of playing in the country, saying that he knew that wickets were going to be bouncy and planned his shots accordingly.
Following gritty, under-pressure knocks of 80 and 68 against Australia A in the second unofficial Test at Melbourne, Jurel made himself as one of the favourites for a spot in the Perth Test squad. Already three Tests old in which he has made 190 runs, with all of them coming at home, Jurel has displayed some impressive temperament that could very well help him seal a spot as a specialist batter as well.
Speaking on Star Sports about his performances in the India A-Australia A match, Jurel said, "I had a rough idea that the pitches here would be very different from those in India. I knew the pitches would be bouncy, so I planned my shots accordingly and worked on improving my game. It turned out to be a good approach."
Jurel recalled that legendary opener Virender Sehwag is one of his cricketing idols and talked about other players he admires.
"Virender Sehwag--my family used to watch him in the beginning--AB de Villiers because of his innovation, the calmness of MS Dhoni, the aggression of Virat Kohli, and the ease of Rohit Sharma. There are so many cricketers from whom I have drawn inspiration," he added.
Jurel said that his biggest dream was to play Test cricket for India, especially in overseas conditions of South Africa, England, New Zealand and South Africa and reminisced on watching matches in these nations as a kid.
"I remember when matches were held in Australia, New Zealand, and England, we had to set alarms because the time zone was different. I was always filled with excitement, and now that I'm here, I'm hopeful for the chance to play in the matches. I am still very excited, though there are some butterflies in my stomach, but I am looking forward to it," he concluded.
After the series opener in Perth on November 22, the second Test, featuring the day-night format, will take place under lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10.
Fans will then turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18. The traditional Boxing Day Test, scheduled from December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, will mark the series' penultimate stage.
The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting climax to a highly anticipated series.
India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
Australia squad for the first Test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.