Coming into the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, pressure was mounting on Dhruv Jurel. The 25-year-old had failed to score a fifty in his previous seven innings, raising questions over his place in the playing XI.
However, justifying the faith shown in him by the Indian team management, Jurel struck a fluent 51 off 68 balls — his second Test half-century — to help India post a formidable 460 for nine on the second day of the Galle Test.
“There was, honestly, no pressure. I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to represent India. That’s the only privilege that I play for. Whenever I speak to the captain or head coach, they always tell me what to do according to the situation. So I play accordingly. There is no personal milestone that I look for before batting. I just go there and do what the team needs,” Jurel said at the post-day press conference on Sunday.
Jurel said his decision to arrive in Sri Lanka early, coupled with his experience of playing at the same venue for India A in the lead-up to the Test series, stood him in good stead.
“We came here 10 days before the first Test. We practised in Colombo and, before that, played for India A. We had four-five sessions. It’s all about batting on these kinds of surfaces as much as I can. It improves my batting, helps me understand the environment and the situation. So it’s really helpful,” he said.
However, justifying the faith shown in him by the Indian team management, Jurel struck a fluent 51 off 68 balls — his second Test half-century — to help India post a formidable 460 for nine on the second day of the Galle Test.
“There was, honestly, no pressure. I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to represent India. That’s the only privilege that I play for. Whenever I speak to the captain or head coach, they always tell me what to do according to the situation. So I play accordingly. There is no personal milestone that I look for before batting. I just go there and do what the team needs,” Jurel said at the post-day press conference on Sunday.
Jurel said his decision to arrive in Sri Lanka early, coupled with his experience of playing at the same venue for India A in the lead-up to the Test series, stood him in good stead.
“We came here 10 days before the first Test. We practised in Colombo and, before that, played for India A. We had four-five sessions. It’s all about batting on these kinds of surfaces as much as I can. It improves my batting, helps me understand the environment and the situation. So it’s really helpful,” he said.