Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes India doesn’t need to choose between Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel after the Test series against Sri Lanka. Chopra highlighted that India was previously playing more all-rounders and they need to back a specialist batter like Dhruv Jurel at number six.

Jurel impressed one and all as he scored an unbeaten knock of 115 runs in the first innings of the second Test match at Colombo. The right-hander also scored a decent knock of 51 runs off 68 balls in the first innings of the opening Test match.

Jurel scored 173 runs in two Test matches at an average of 86.50, whereas Rishabh Pant amassed 168 runs at an average of 56.

“There is an ongoing debate on whether Dhruv Jurel or Rishabh Pant should be kept. Which way should India go if they have to play only one? I wonder why to play only one? Until now, we were playing so many bowlers who could also bat, whether it’s Nitish Kumar Reddy or Washington Sundar,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

“We were stopping at five batters. After that, you could see Washi at No. 6, Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7, and Nitish Kumar Reddy at No. 8, or the other way around, which I thought wasn’t a good idea. You need a batter at No. 6. In my opinion, it’s not a question at all,” he added.

The renowned commentator highlighted that Jurel has almost sealed his place in the team as a number six batter.

“We were stopping at five batters. After that, you could see Washi at No. 6, Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7, and Nitish Kumar Reddy at No. 8, or the other way around, which I thought wasn’t a good idea. You need a batter at No. 6. In my opinion, it’s not a question at all,” he added.

India won the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka by 1-0.