"No competition between me and Pant....": Dhruv Jurel ahead of 1st India-South Africa Test

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], November 12 (ANI): India's wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel clarified that there is "no competition" between him and Rishabh Pant, and emphasised that the aim is to "win games" for India, ahead of the First Test against South Africa starting from Friday at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.

Jurel, who came as a replacement for Pant, has been in sublime form in red-ball cricket, registered his maiden century during the Home Test series against the West Indies at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.

Speaking on JioStar, Jurel said, "There is no competition between me and Rishabh bhai. Both of us are playing for India, and whoever plays, the motive is the same: to make India win. If he plays, I am happy. If I play, I am happy. If we play together, that would be even better. The only focus is the team."

"It is going to be a very exciting battle. Both teams have strong fast-bowling attacks. Whether it's Rabada and Marco Jansen from their side, or Bumrah bhai from ours, there's quality all around," he said. Speaking about getting his maiden Test ton against the Windies, Jurel said that he "felt on Cloud seven."

"As a cricketer, the best feeling is feeling accomplished that you did something for your team and they won" he said.

Jurel scored 911 runs in eight matches and 14 innings at a massive average of 91.10, including four centuries and four fifties and a best score of 140.

His run of form for India A, in particular, has helped him present himself as a great choice for a specialist batter.

In seven Tests for India, he has scored 430 runs in 11 innings at an average of 47.77, with a century and fifty each and a best score of 125.

Notably, speaking about Jurel's inclusion in the playing XI, India's assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate said at the pre-match press conference, "I would be very surprised if you don't see Dhruv and Rishabh playing in this Test this week. Given the way Dhruv has gone in the last six months, and scoring two hundreds in Bengaluru last week, he is certain to play this week."

India Test squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep

South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne

Series schedule:

First Test - November 14-18, Kolkata

Second Test - November 22-26, Guwahati. (ANI)

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