Who is Dhruv Jurel? – All you need to know about RR’s Rising Star

The Rajasthan Royals were defeated by Shikhar Dhawan’s Punjab Kings in the eighth match of the IPL 2023 at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. The hosts fell five runs short of the PBKS 198-run goal, earning 192 runs in their 20 overs. RR captain Samson led the way with a 42-run inning.

Unfortunately, no Rajasthan Royals batter was able to stay at the crease for an extended period of time, and everyone ended up playing cameos. Dhruv Jurel, who came in as an impact player in lieu of leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, astonished everyone with his batting performance. Jurel scored 31 runs off 15 balls, including three fours and two sixes.

RR vs PBKS: Who is Dhruv Jurel?

Dhruv Jurel is an Uttar Pradesh-born wicketkeeper-batsman who served as the Indian cricket team’s vice-captain in the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in South Africa. Jurel scored 249 runs against Nagaland in a Ranji Trophy match in December 2022 and has 587 runs in 11 first-class matches to far.

Dhruv Jurel was purchased by the Rajasthan Royals in the 2022 Indian Premier League super auction but did not play that season. On his debut with the Royals, he put up a 61-run stand with Shimron Hetmyer and hammered 32 runs off just 15 balls. Jurel never seemed rushed to get runs and stayed composed throughout his innings against the Punjab Kings.

At the post-match news conference, Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson praised Dhruv Jurel’s play and stated that the franchise coaches had been working with him for a long time. “The coaches have put a lot of work behind him, we had a work week camp before the IPL, but the way they have worked a lot of time in our academies, having faced 1000s of balls and I’m happy with the way they’re progressing. I was expecting the dew to come in the second innings, but it was evident that it was there right at the start, need to be prepared better for such things in the next game”, Sanju Samson said.

Returning to the game, Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan batted well, scoring an unbeaten 86 off 56 balls with nine fours and three sixes. Dhawan’s opening partner Prabhasimran Singh followed in his footsteps, scoring 60 off 34 balls with a strike rate of 176.47.

The Rajasthan Royals never got going in pursuit of the mark, as R Ashwin, who came in to begin in place of Jos Buttler, was removed for a duck by Arshdeep Singh. Buttler walked back for 19 after being dismissed, while Yashasvi Jaiswal was unable to maintain his form from the previous match.

Captain Sanju Samson batted for 42 runs and attempted to manage the innings, but he was also removed early. In the end, no batter could stay at the crease for long, and the hosts lost by five runs.

Also Read: IPL 2023: Points Table, Orange Cap And Purple Cap Leaders After RR vs PBKS (cricfiles.com)