Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has come up with a much-needed follow-up to his statement about Dhruv Jurel being the next MS Dhoni in the making. Gavaskar had made those comments in the light of Jurel’s crucial contribution with the bat as well as behind the stumps in the 4th Test at Ranchi where India tripled their lead in the 5-match series.
Dhruv Jurel made his senior debut in the 3rd Test when the Indian management led by Rahul Dravid decided to drop KS Bharat from the starting XI. Many at that time thought it wouldn’t be a good move, given Jurel’s inexperience and lack of enough first-class games for his state.
However, Jurel had a contrasting performance in the 3rd Test itself, scoring an impressive 46 runs off 106 balls including 2 fours and 3 sixes. One of the best things about his batting was his defensive technique which looked extremely solid as well as balanced. Then in the 4th innings during England’s unsuccessful chase of 557 runs, Jurel had also completed a semi-diving run out of Ben Duckett. He then amassed praise for his nifty glovework as well.
Gavaskar takes a U-turn, claims no one can be like MS Dhoni
Following the comments he made via Jio Cinema after seeing Dhruv Jurel’s performance, Sunil Gavaskar had received a lot of backlash. However, he took a U-turn in his latest interview with Sportstak where he claimed no one can be like MS Dhoni.
The 74-year-old stated that he just tried to point out the similarities between the duo in terms of game awareness as well as situational batting. And that if Jurel can become even a portion of what Dhoni was then Indian cricket will benefit.
“The way he thinks about the game, the way he assesses the situation and bats accordingly, gives me the MS Dhoni feels. He would hit a six in between and then look for ones and twos to rotate the strike… Even in keeping, the way he gathered that wayward throw and ran out Ben Duckett and then took a brilliant catch of Jimmy Anderson who went for the reverse sweep. – Sunil Gavaskar told Sportstak.
“When MS Dhoni was of his age, he too had the same situation awareness. And that is why I said, Dhruv Jurel is like MS Dhoni. No one can become MS Dhoni. There is only one MS Dhoni. But if Jurel can manage to do even some portion of the things Dhoni did then it would be great for Indian cricket.” – Gavaskar added.
Gavaskar feels Dhruv Jurel has a good chance of playing in the T20 World Cup in June
Sunil Gavaskar went on to affirm that Dhruv Jurel needs to make sure he undergoes a decent performance in the IPL 2024 so that he can go on to feature in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. When asked about the position in which Jurel can come on to bat, Gavaskar claimed he should be coming at 5 or 6, the same position from which MS Dhoni used to finish off games.
“He is definitely an option. A lot will depend on his IPL form. Form is very important. But the ease with which he is hitting sixes shows that he has the game for shorter formats. If he gets a chance then he will bat at No.5 or 6 only, as a finisher.” – Gavaskar concluded.
