Rohit Sharma's Unfiltered Pep-Talk: How It Calmed Dhruv Jurel Before Test Debut and Helped Him Conquer Nerves

Team India's wicketkeeper-batter, Dhruv Jurel, has had an outstanding year in 2024. His consistent performances in red-ball cricket earned him a call-up to the Indian Test team for the series against England, where he impressed fans and experts with his solid batting displays. Jurel has maintained his spot in the Test squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh, although he is expected to start on the bench for the first match due to the return of Rishabh Pant.

The Test selection earlier this year was Jurel's maiden call-up to the Indian team, and justifiably, the nerves were high for the youngster from Uttar Pradesh. In an interview with Jatin Sapru on YouTube, Jurel recalled meeting captain Rohit Sharma for the first time. He revealed he didn't have the courage to talk to Rohit, and it was the captain himself who invited him to have a chat during a training session.

“I had eye contact with Rohit bhaiya on many occasions, but I couldn't muster the courage to talk to him. Then, he casually called me, 'idhar aa! (come here!)'. Then he said, 'Kya ho gaya? Sab badhiya? Tere me dum hai isliye tu aaya hai, tere me potential hai. Aaram se reh, bindaas. Pehli ball maarni hai, maar. Bas 100 percent sure hoke maariyo' (What's wrong, all good? You deserve your place in this team. Don't get overwhelmed. If you want to hit the first ball for a six, do that. Just be 100 percent sure on your shot). That was the conversation. And that was when I hadn't even made my debut,” Jurel recalled.

Jurel kept the wickets for the side after he replaced the underperforming KS Bharat in the XI, and played a vital role in India's dominant 4-1 win in the series. He is yet to make his white-ball debut for the national team.

Jurel also drew a parallel of the Indian dressing room with that of his state side, insisting that it came as a cultural shock. The youngster stated that while the dressing room in UP was strict in terms of discipline, the atmosphere in the Indian team was free-flowing.

He also further recollected being hit on a shoulder from a delivery from India's throwdown specialist Raghu, and the reactions from some of his teammates.

“Songs keep playing in the dressing room. It was completely new for me, because state dressing rooms don't have that environment. It's quite strict there. I was in the nets facing Raghu bhai, and I hit him for a very good drive. The very next ball, he gave me a scorching bouncer on the shoulder. Then, Axar and Iyer came to shake my hand. I was surprised that why are they shaking hands with me. They just said, ‘welcome to Indian cricket!’,” said Jurel.