‘We didn’t get to see the best of Dhruv Jurel at No.8': India coach accepts but says Gambhir unlikely to change it

‘We didn’t get to see the best of Dhruv Jurel at No.8': India coach accepts but says Gambhir unlikely to change it

We didn’t get to see the best of Dhruv Jurel at No.8': India coach accepts but says Gambhir unlikely to change it ByHT Sports Desk Jan 30, 2025 10:20 PM IST Share Via Copy Link Ryan ten Doeschate agreed that sending Dhurv Jurel so low was not the ideal thing but added that head coach Gambhir's stance is unlikely to change.

T20Is have not been too kind to Dhruv Jurel. The young wicketkeeper-batter had a pretty good IPL in 2023 that earned him recognition and limelight, but he has failed to replicate it at the international level. Scores 6, 4 and 2 really don't do any justice to Jurel's prodigious talent. To be fair to Jurel, he hasn't even had the opportunity to make a difference, unlike in Test matches. The highest Jurel has batted in T20Is is at No.6 in his debut against Zimbabwe. In his last two matches against England, he was sent in at No.8.

India's Dhruv Jurel reacts as he walks back to the pavilion(AFP)

Jurel is not new to the finisher's role. In fact, he made a name for himself as a finisher, coming in as the Impact Player for the Rajasthan Royals but things have not quite gone his way for India. Head coach Gautam Gambhir coped with some criticism from former cricketers Kevin Pietersen and Parthiv Patel for batting Jurel so low.

Ahead of the fourth T20I, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate agreed that sending Jurel so low was not the ideal thing but added that Gambhir's philosophy of having at least eight batters in T20 cricket is sacrosanct and unlikely to change in the near future.

"You could argue that we don't want Dhruv Jurel batting at number 8. But I also think if you look at the blueprint of any of Gambhir's teams that he has coached since he's been coaching T20 cricket, it is a big part of how he likes to set up," Ten Doeschate said, explaining the rationale behind the strategy. Jurel has scored 4 and 2 in second and third T20Is and is set to be dropped as Rinku Singh has regained his fitness.

However, what raised eyebrows was the logic of sending Jurel at No. 8 just to maintain the left-right combination in the middle.

"Particularly the other night, like I said, with Dhruv coming in at 8, I don't think we got to see the best of him. But we do believe that it's a big part of strategy in these games.

"Again, going back to my point, we want to give guys a long enough opportunity to show how good they are because we believe in the medium to long term, guys will show how good they are," the former Netherlands star said.

Rinku was rested from the second and third game of the series due to back spasms and India's assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate confirmed that the Aligarh dasher is good to go on Friday.

"Rinku is fit. He played the first game, hurt himself and missed the next two. But I would imagine Rinku comes back in as soon as he's proper fit. He batted the other night and I think he'll be ready to go tomorrow," Ten Doeschate said.