Dhruv Jurel is set to retain his spot in India’s Test XI despite the return of Rishabh Pant, who missed the West Indies series due to a foot injury. All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is likely to make way for Pant, who has recovered from his injury and will be available for selection.
India’s assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, confirmed Jurel’s place in the starting XI during a press conference ahead of the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata. Jurel, who made his debut during Pant’s absence, impressed with a maiden Test century in Ahmedabad and has been in excellent form, scoring two hundreds in Bangalore last week.
“I don’t think you can leave him out for this Test, the short answer is no,” said ten Doeschate. “But obviously, you can only pick 11, so someone else will miss out. We’ve got a pretty good idea of the combination.”
India’s squad includes three spin-bowling allrounders—Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Axar Patel—which allows them the flexibility to include an extra batter like Jurel without compromising on the bowling attack.
Ten Doeschate also said, “Given the way Dhruv has been playing recently, he is certainly going to play. I’d be very surprised if both Dhruv and Rishabh don’t play in this Test.”
Regarding Nitish Kumar Reddy, who played in the West Indies series but saw limited game time, ten Doeschate explained, “He might miss out this week given the importance of the series and the conditions we expect to face.”
India’s batsmen will be tested by South Africa’s formidable spin trio—Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, and Senuran Muthusamy—who took 33 wickets between them in their recent Test series in Pakistan. Ten Doeschate highlighted that India will focus on improving their spin play following last year’s 3-0 loss to New Zealand in a home series.
“Most likely, South Africa will play three spinners,” ten Doeschate said. “It’s a challenge we’ve been preparing for, and we have to get better at it. Hopefully, we’ve learned from the New Zealand series, and we’re ready for the challenge.”