‘I was pinching myself’: Jurel recalls his first interaction with Dhoni

RANCHI: Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel opened up on his first interaction with former India skipper M S Dhoni ahead of the fourth Test of the five-match series against England at Ranchi.

Currently, the hosts lead the five-match series 2-1 with still two matches to go in the series. The fourth Test will commence on February 23 at JSCA International Stadium Complex followed by the fifth and final Test of the series to be played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to their social media handle, X and shared a video in which Jurel is talking about Dhoni.

𝗜𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶, 𝗗𝗵𝗿𝘂𝘃 𝗝𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵…

…like everyone else, an MS Dhoni meeting – By @ameyatilak #TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @msdhoni | @dhruvjurel21 | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/mBHwEaphgl

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 20, 2024

“I was just watching him and I stood up and started thinking is this MS Dhoni standing in front of me. My first interaction with him was in IPL 2021 which was my first season. At that time, I was pinching myself to see whether it is a dream or not. My dream is to meet Mahi bhai, especially after the match after an international game. Whenever I have talked to him, I have always learnt something new from him, so I will hope that I get a chance to meet him during the fourth Test at Ranchi”, Jurel said in a video posted by BCCI.

The wicketkeeper-batter made his Test debut in the third Test at Rajkot. He was able to play only in the first innings where he played a confident knock off 46 runs with the help of three sixes and two fours.

Jurel has displayed a quality performance in the iconic T20 tournament, Indian Premier League, where he appeared in 13 matches and scored 152 runs at 21.71 with a strike rate of 172.73 last season, thriving as a hard-hitting, lower-order finisher. In 15 First-Class (FC) matches Jurel has scored 790 runs at an average of 46.47, with a century and five fifties in 19 innings. His best score is 249. Jurel represents Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket.

Coming to the third Test, India secured a 556-run second innings lead, declaring their second innings at 430/4. The Three Lions, while chasing 557, were bundled out for just 122 runs in 39.4, losing the match by 434 runs. Ravindra Jadeja took 5/41, while Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah took a wicket each.

Jadeja was awarded the Player of the Match for his all-round performance in the Test match. (ANI)