'Pehli ball maarni hai, maar' - Dhruv Jurel recalls first candid interaction with Rohit Sharma

Dhruv Jurel recalled his first interaction with Rohit Sharma during a training session on the sidelines of his debut Test series against England earlier this year.

The wicketkeeper-batter received his maiden call-up to the national team for India's home Test series against England and he got the chance to share the dressing room and have a heart-to-heart conversation with the Indian skipper. However, Jurel revealed that he couldn't muster the courage to talk to Rohit, and it was the experienced campaigner who called him for a chat.

“I had eye contact with Rohit bhaiya on many occasions, but I couldn't muster the courage to talk to him. Then, he casually called me, 'idhar aa! (come here!)'. Then he said, 'Kya ho gaya? Sab badhiya? Tere me dum hai isliye tu aaya hai, tere me potential hai. Aaram se reh, bindaas. Pehli ball maarni hai, maar. Bas 100 percent sure hoke maariyo' (What's wrong, all good? You deserve your place in this team. Don't get overwhelmed. If you want to hit the first ball for a six, do that. Just be 100 percent sure on your shot). That was the conversation. And that was when I hadn't even made my debut,” Jurel recalled in an interview with Jatin Sapru on YouTube.

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The 23-year-old replaced the underperforming KS Bharat in the playing XI for the last three matches and impressed with the bat as well as the gloves. In four innings, he scored 190 runs at an average of 63.33. Jurel, who plays for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit, said that the mood in the Indian dressing room is much lighter in comparison to his state side. He also recollected an instance when he was hit on his shoulder by India's throwdown specialist Raghu in the nets, and revealed what Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer told him afterwards.

“Songs keep playing in the dressing room. It was completely new for me, because state dressing rooms don't have that environment. It's quite strict there. I was in the nets facing Raghu bhai, and I hit him for a very good drive. The very next ball, he gave me a scorching bouncer on the shoulder. Then, Axar and Iyer came to shake my hand. I was surprised that why are they shaking hands with me. They just said, ‘welcome to Indian cricket!’,” said Jurel.

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The talented youngster has been named in India's squad for the first Test against Bangladesh, starting Thursday, September 19. However, he is expected to be on the bench with Rishabh Pant coming back to the Test arena after almost 2 years.