Rajasthan Royals' Dhruv Jurel in a practice session. (Courtesy: Rajasthan Royals)

On a quiet Friday night in Ahmedabad, in the middle of India A’s tour match against England Lions, Dhruv Jurel’s phone was suddenly inundated with calls, messages and notifications. It took him a while to come to terms with what transpired in those moments, but the realisation soon dawned on him.

A right-hand batter and wicketkeeper, former India U19 vice-captain, and Royals” emerging star, 22-year-old Dhruv Chand Jurel from Uttar Pradesh was now going to rub shoulders with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Royals teammates Ravichandran Ashwin, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Avesh Khan in the same dressing room as part of India’s Test squad for the upcoming England series.

“I was shocked! I was with the India A team, we were playing against the England Lions in a 2-day match. The news broke late in the night and when I found out, I immediately called my father to tell him and his first question was, “Which Indian team? Aren’t you already playing for one of them?”. I said, “The same one in which Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma play”. He couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it too!”

“The most important learning that I’d want to take away from this series is how to develop the mental fortitude that is needed to survive at the highest level. A lot of players get call-ups, but only a few are able to sustain themselves. Once you’re in the public eye on a much bigger stage, you are constantly judged on your performances. So I really want to know how these players deal with bad days, how they face criticism and pressure. I am going to try and absorb it all,” Jurel said.

Jurel has been named as a wicketkeeper-batted in the first-two of five match Test series against England. The first two matches will be held at Hyderabad and Visakhapatanam respectively.