Irfan Pathan backs Dhruv Jurel’s inclusion in opening Test against South Africa

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has backed Dhruv Jurel’s inclusion in the opening Test match against South Africa. Jurel had impressed in the two Test matches against the West Indies in the absence of injured Pant as he had scored 175 runs in three innings at an average of 87.50. However, with Pant returning to India’s Test squad, it would be interesting to note India’s playing combination.

Jurel has been in fine form and recently returned with scores of 132 and 127 in the second unofficial Test against South Africa A while playing for India A. 

India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has also indicated that Jurel is most likely going to be part of India’s playing XI.

“The way Dhruv Jurel is playing, he has to be in the playing XI. The team management also likes him. He can play as a pure batter. If Dhruv Jurel plays, India will have three wicket-keepers in their playing XI as Rahul and Pant will also be there. I hope Jurel gets a long run. Even going forward, on overseas pitches, he could prove to be a good batter,” Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

However, Pathan reckons India could have used Nitish Kumar Reddy as a third seamer in the opening Test against the Proteas.

“So, under such circumstances, there is a lot of responsibility on Bumrah and Siraj. They released Nitish Kumar Reddy to play for India ‘A’ as well. I actually thought Nitish Kumar Reddy could play here as a third seamer, and can bat too. So, I think India will go with two pacers and three spinners for this game,” he added.

Meanwhile, Pathan also backed Kuldeep Yadav’s inclusion in the team. Yadav returned with figures of 1-66 and 0-81 in the second unofficial Test match against South Africa A. The wrist spinner had bagged 12 wickets in two Test matches against the West Indies.

“Kuldeep Yadav was released from the T20I squad in Australia so that he could get some red-ball cricket before the Test. The South Africa ‘A’ batters played well against him, and it was not like Kuldeep left them on all fours or something. But even then, you expect that after Kuldeep was sent in to play the India ‘A’ game after so much planning, after being released from the T20I squad midway through the series, he has got to play,” Irfan Pathan opined.

The opening Test match between India and South Africa will be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, from November 14 onwards.