I'd be staggered if Jurel doesn't play against Australia: Paine backs India wicketkeeper batter

Sydney: Impressed by Dhruv Jurel's technique and the ease with which he navigated through the bouncy MCG pitch recently, former Australia captain Tim Paine backed the Indian wicketkeeper batter to shine during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Paine, who coached Australia A in the recent series against India A, witnessed Jurel's exploits in the second 'unofficial' Test where the 23-year-old scored an 80 and 68 at Melbourne.

"There's a guy who has wicket kept in a few Test matches for India. He averages 63 out of the three Tests he's played, and his name is Dhruv Jurel" Paine said on 'SEN Tassie'.

Jurel made his Test debut against England earlier this year. In the three games that he played, Jurel scored 46, 90, 39 not out, and 15, averaging 63 with the bat.

The right-hander has, however, not got a game since Rishabh Pant's comeback.

"I don't know if you saw much of the highlights, but after seeing him bat (against Australia A) – even though he’s a wicketkeeper, from what I’ve seen on this tour and from India’s batting in the last couple of months, I'd be staggered if he doesn't play," he added.

While Pant is expected to don the wicketkeepers gloves against Australia, Jurel, who was a part of the Indian squad for the New Zealand series, built a strong case for a Test eleven inclusion with two successive fifties in the four-day match.

"He's 23 and he's played three Test matches, but he looked a class above all of his teammates, to be fair, and handled the pace and bounced really well, which can be unusual for an Indian player," Paine said.

The former wicketkeeper batter feels Jurel has the required temperament and skill to succeed in the longer format.

"He scored one of the more polished 80s I've seen, and we were all sitting around as staff of Cricket Australia and thought, 'Wow, this guy can seriously play'," Paine added.

"Keep an eye out for him this summer. I think he's going to impress a lot of Australian fans." "Even though it’s going to be another step up against the big three (of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood), he looks like he has the game to play Test cricket," Pane added.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins on November 22 with Perth set to host the opener.