Dhruv Jurel, an Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, said that his salute celebration after hitting his half-century on Day 3 of the Ranchi Test against England on Sunday, February 25, was for his father, Kargil war veteran Nem Chand.
Dhruv Jurel, in only his second Test, led India’s opening innings with 90 runs off 149 deliveries. He formed vital partnerships with lower-order batsmen Kuldeep Yadav (28) and Akash Deep (9) to lead India’s comeback from 177/7 in response to England’s 353. India finally concluded with 307, reducing England’s first-inning advantage to 46.
Fans were wondering about Jurel’s tribute celebration in Ranchi when he turned fifty. According to PTI, the 23-year-old spoke openly about the situation:
‘It was for my father. Yesterday [Saturday] I spoke to him. My father indirectly told me ‘ek salute to dikha de (show me the salute once)’. He was a Kargil war veteran so my celebration was for him.”
Dhruv Jurel
Dhruv Jurel discussed his vital 76-run partnership with Kuldeep Yadav for the ninth wicket during the post-Day 3 news conference.
“We both come from UP, we have good understanding, played a lot of domestic cricket together, we kept talking with each other and it helped in our partnership.”
Dhruv Jurel
When asked if he had a special plan for batting with tail-enders, Jurel responded:
“There was no specific plan, but it is important to show confidence and faith. I had to tell them that you can bat. That is what we planned and it worked out. Both (Akash Deep and Siraj) are decent batters, they bat in IPL as well. I told them the same and it was necessary. They did well.”
Dhruv Jurel
Following Kuldeep’s departure, Jurel contributed 40 runs for the ninth wicket to Akash Deep, reducing England’s lead further.
“I believe in visualization and manifestation” – Dhruv Jurel
Intriguingly, the teenager also shared details about his series preparations, stating that he believes in the visualization and manifestation process in addition to hard effort. He said that he did the same before facing James Anderson and Mark Wood in the current series.
“Hard work is there, but I believe in visualization and manifestation. Whatever match or series, one or two weeks prior I start preparation looking at the bowling line-up, who will bowl and how will I play them. I play out the scenarios and it helps.”
“I visualised that whoever is the bowler, be it Anderson, Mark Wood, Hartley, whatever they bowl, I see their videos where they bowl and where are my zones and how can I hit them.”
Dhruv Jurel
After India scored 307 in the first innings, Ravichandran Ashwin (5/51) and Kuldeep (4/22) combined to dismiss England for 145 in the second innings. India were 40/0 at stumps on Day 3 in their chase of 192.