Indian wicket-keeper batsman Dhruv Jurel who made his senior Test debut in the 3rd Test against England at the Niranjan Shah stadium in Rajkot, recalled the time when he first met the legendary figure of Indian cricket, MS Dhoni during IPL 2021 which was Jurel’s debut season for the Rajasthan Royals.
It is normal for every cricketer in the country to get shell-shocked by meeting someone of the stature of MSD himself and Dhruv Jurel is no exception. He remembers pinching himself after Dhoni came in front of him and going spellbound for a while before asking for a picture and getting valuable pieces of advice from Thala.
“I stood up and started thinking is this MS Dhoni”, Jurel on his maiden interaction with the 2011 WC-winning captain
In a recent video uploaded by the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the BCCI, Jurel explained that he was just sitting and watching him over before realizing that it was Dhoni himself.
“I was just watching him and I stood up and started thinking is this MS Dhoni standing in front of me. My first interaction with him was in IPL 2021 which was my first season. At that time, I was pinching myself to see whether it is a dream or not.” – Jurel said via BCCI.
Dhruv Jurel would then disclose his ultimate dream to be fulfilled in the 4th Test which will take place in the hometown of MS Dhoni at Ranchi, Jharkhand. The 23-year-old claimed that his dream in the match will not be scoring a century or stumping a could of players but to meet Dhoni after the match.
“My dream is to meet Mahi bhai especially after the match after an international game. Whenever I have talked to him, I have always learnt something new from him so I hope that I get a chance to meet him during the fourth Test at Ranchi.” – Jurel added.
“Just go out, watch the ball, and play”, Dhruv Jurel reveals chat with MSD
Then Dhruv Jurel would reveal the chat he had with the former India captain after a league stage match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021. He recalls going straight towards MS Dhoni and stumbling upon thinking as to what should be asked.
Jurel then stated that he just asked for a picture before Dhoni told him to just watch the ball and play according to the merit of the ball.
“So I met him back in 2021 when it was my first IPL season. Then I went straight to him and I was like “Sir-Bhaiya, Sir-Bhaiya”, I couldn’t figure out what to say. And then I asked him ‘can I have one photo with you’. Then he gave me only one advice to just go out, watch the ball and play.” – Jurel concluded.
Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel on his debut Test match, missed out on what could have been a memorable half-century by just 4 runs but overall he had a decent outing. The youngster was good with the gloves too as he led to the run-out of England’s dangerous opening batter Ben Duckett who had scored a full century in the 2nd innings at Rajkot. Jurel is expected to retain his position in the team in place of KS Bharat.