Aakash Chopra says Dhruv Jurel would have scored runs if he had played all Test matches against Australia

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra feels Dhruv Jurel would have scored runs if he had played all Test matches against Australia. Jurel returned with scores of 11 and 1 in the opening Test match against the Aussies at Perth, which India won convincingly by 295 runs.

However, Jurel was left out of the squad after Shubman Gill recovered from a thumb injury whereas Rohit Sharma also joined the squad after missing the opener due to paternity leave. 

Meanwhile, Jurel scored 148 runs in two innings for India A against Australia A at an average of 74 and thus impressed one and all before BGT.

Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “What about Dhruv Jurel? They have already started investing in Dhruv Jurel. He is a quality player and can actually play as a batter also. He is just 23. When everyone was struggling for India A, how well he batted. It’s not easy to bat like that on Australian pitches.”

“I am absolutely convinced he would have scored runs if he had played all Tests, in case he had played after Perth also. He has the fight like you see in Nitish Kumar Reddy. It’s not tangible but Dhruv Jurel has something. He has got that thing,” the former India batter added.

On the other hand, the reputed commentator picked Riyan Parag as another batter who could shine for India in Test matches. Parag has scored 1991 runs in 32 first-class matches at an average of 36.20.

“After that, I am again going towards a youngster. Let me just throw one name and I would want you to tell me whether it’s right or wrong. Should he be thought about at all? His name is Riyan Parag. Interesting name. Completely out-of-the-box name,” he said.

“He does well for Assam but when he does well for Assam, especially in four-day cricket, you have to take it with a pinch of salt because he is going to score runs where Assam plays cricket and the huge role he has in that team. However, should his first-class numbers be seen in the same way as say Devdutt Padikkal or Sai Sudharsan? I don’t think so,” Chopra explained.

India will next tour England for five-match Test series and it will be interesting to note who would get the backing from selectors after series loss against Australia.