 "Dhruv Jurel celebrates his century on day three of the second unofficial four-day Test cricket match of a series between India A and South Africa A. PTI")
Dhruv Jurel will be playing the first Test against South Africa at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens starting Friday, November 14. India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate confirmed team’s plans of playing the in-form wicket-keeper batter ahead of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who is likely to be left out of the playing XI.
“I think we have got a pretty good idea of the combination. Given the way Dhruv has gone in the last six months and scoring two hundreds (against South Africa A) in Bangalore last week. He is certain to play this week,” ten Doeschate said at the pre-match press conference.
Jurel had filled in for regular wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant during the two-match Test series against West Indies at home. He hit a century against West Indies and recently hit tons in both the innings against South Africa ‘A’ in the second unofficial Test.
Reddy to be dropped
All-rounder Reddy will have to sit on bench due to Jurel’s inclusion as Rishabh Pant will be making his comeback.
“The primary thing is to set out a strategy to win the game. Our position certainly hasn’t changed on Nitish. He didn’t get much game time in Australia,” Morkel said while talking about the batting all-rounder.
“But I would say given the importance of this series and given the conditions we think we are going to face, he (Nitish Kumar Reddy) might miss out in this Test this week,” he added.
Rishabh Pant to return
Pant will be returning to the playing XI after recovering from the foot injury that he suffered during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. The left-hander returned to competitive action through the unofficial Tests between ‘A’ teams of India and South Africa.
He led India ‘A’ and scored half-centuries in both the games. Pant also had to retire hurt for a while in the second match after copping three body blows. However, he returned to hit a fifty and is fit to play the Test series against South Africa.