"I'd Be Staggered If He Doesn't Play": Ex-Australia Skipper's Bold Remark On 3-Test India Star

Former Australia skipper Tim Paine has backed young wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel and believes that the latter could be very useful to the Indian side in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Jurel has only played three matches and was mainly included in India's touring party for the five-match Test series in Australia as a backup for regular keeper Rishabh Pant, the 23-year-old impressed during a recent match for India A against Australia A in Melbourne.

Jurel caught the eye of Paine when he looked composed contributing scores of 80 and 68 batting at No.6 in the low-scoring MCG contest and the former Australia captain - who coached Australia A in the match - thinks the right-hander will play as a specialist batter in the opening Test of the summer in Perth.

"I don't know if you saw much of the highlights, but after seeing him bat (against Australia A) - even though he's a wicket-keeper, from what I've seen on this tour and from India's batting in the last couple of months, I'd be staggered if he doesn't play. He scored one of the more polished 80s I've seen, and we were all sitting around as staff of Cricket Australia and thought, 'Wow, this guy can seriously play'," Paine told Australian radio station SEN on Tuesday as quoted by the ICC.

Jurel made his Test debut against England in Rajkot earlier this year, claiming a catch and a stumping when deputising for Pant while also contributing 46 runs with the bat after coming in at No.8 during the comprehensive India victory.

A composed innings of 90 followed in the ensuing Test in Ranchi, with Jurel averaging an impressive 63.33 from three Test appearances against England earlier this year.

Paine knows that Jurel will face a step up in class if selected