A number of India stars were missing in the recently-concluded Test series against England, and that paved way for others to cash-in and make a good case for themselves.
Devdutt Padikkall and Dhruv Jurel were among the two biggest finds of the series. Both played crucial knocks to help India win the series. So, who picked Jurel and Padikkal was the question after the series ended. India coach Rahul Dravid after the match at Dharamsala gave credit to Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and his team.
Now, it is understood that that it was Agarkar who has picked Jurel and backed him. A report on Hindustan Times suggests that the team management was not too sure about Jurel, but then Agarkar was confident of him.
“It was Agarkar who suggested Jurel’s name. The team management wasn’t too confident about him as he was still a rookie. Picking a youngster who hasn’t had much red-ball exposure at the top level straightaway into the Indian side for an important series like England was always going to be a brave call but Agarkar had seen enough to vouch for the youngster,” a BCCI source told Hindustan Times.
The source revealed that there was talk about going back to Cheteshwar Pujara, who was getting runs in the domestic circuit.
“There was a discussion about Cheteshwar Pujara, who was scoring runs in Ranji Trophy. The batting line-up literally had no experience. But Agarkar stood firm on looking ahead with Padikkal’s selection. He was present when he hit a fluent 150 in a Ranji Trophy and he believed that his height would come in handy against the inexperienced England spinners,” the source added.