"Fantastic Young Man": Rajasthan Royals Coach Kumar Sangakkara After Dhruv Jurel's Maiden India Call-Up

Former Sri Lankan cricketer and current Rajasthan Royals (RR) coach and Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara on Friday expressed happiness at Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel earning a maiden national side call-up for the Test series against England at home, saying that the player understands pressure well and has a fine work ethic. Dhruv was a surprise call-up to the Indian squad for the first two Tests against England, starting from January 25. In the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Jurel played as a finisher for RR, scoring 152 runs in 13 matches at an average of 21.71 and a strike rate of over 172, with his best score being 34*.

"Very proud and happy because one of our key motivators and one of our key kind of performance indicators away from the IPL is producing players for India and we have produced quite a lot over the years and Dhruv being a new addition," said Sangakkara to the media at Paarl, where he is for the second season of SA20 with RR's sister franchise, Paarl Royals.

"He is a fantastic young man. He is a really good player who has worked really hard to get where he is. He understands pressure. He came in last season in one of the most difficult positions and scored so many runs for us. He is an absolute match-win in the short format. Jurel's work ethic and demeanour stand out," he added.

In 15 First-Class matches, Jurel has scored 790 runs at an average of 46.47, with a century and five fifties in 19 innings. His best score is 249. Jurel represents Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket.

Talking about another RR talent Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has had a fine start to his international career, Sangakkara said that Jaiswal needs to keep working hard and understand the tactics of his