Melbourne: Former Australia skipper Tim Paine believes inexperienced wicket-keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel can make a big impact for India during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series.
While Jurel has only played three matches and was mainly included in India's touring party for the five-match Test series in Australia as a back-up for regular keeper Rishabh Pant, the 23-year-old impressed during a recent match for India A against Australia A in Melbourne.
Jurel caught the eye of Paine when he looked composed contributing scores of 80 and 68 batting at No.6 in the low-scoring MCG contest and the former Australia captain - who coached Australia A in the match - thinks the right-hander will play as a specialist batter in the opening Test of the summer in Perth.
“I don't know if you saw much of the highlights, but after seeing him bat against Australia A – even though he’s a wicket-keeper, from what I’ve seen on this tour and from India’s batting in the last couple of months, I'd be staggered if he doesn't play," Paine told Australian radio station SEN on Tuesday.
“He scored one of the more polished 80s I've seen, and we were all sitting around as staff of Cricket Australia and thought, ‘Wow, this guy can seriously play’,” Paine said.
Jurel made his Test debut against England in Rajkot earlier this year, claiming a catch and a stumping when deputising for Pant while also contributing 46 runs with the bat after coming in at No.8 during the comprehensive India victory, an ICC report said.
A composed innings of 90 followed in the ensuing Test in Ranchi, with Jurel averaging an impressive 63.33 from three Test appearances against England earlier this year.
Paine knows that Jurel will face a step up in class if selected to play the crucial ICC World Test Championship clash against Australia, but thinks he is up to the challenge and will be suited by the fast conditions expected in Perth.
“He's 23 and he’s played three Test matches, but he looked a class above all of his teammates, to be fair, and handled the pace and bounce really well, which can be unusual for an Indian player,” Paine said of Jurel.
“Keep an eye out for him this summer. I think he's going to impress a lot of Australian fans," he said.
“Even though it’s going to be another step up against the big three (Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood), he looks like he has the game to play Test cricket,” Paine added.