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Dhruv Jurel gatecrashes the Rishabh Pant-Ishan Kishan ODI selection debate with 160* in Vijay Hazare Trophy
The competition for India's ODI backup wicketkeeper intensifies as Dhruv Jurel scores an unbeaten 160 for Uttar Pradesh, showcasing his match-winning abilities.
The chatter around India’s ODI squad has turned into a straight shootout for the backup wicketkeeper’s slot, with Ishan Kishan’s name roaring back into the frame and questions being asked about where Rishabh Pant fits right now.
And right in the middle of the noise, Dhruv Jurel produced the kind of innings that doesn’t need a PR campaign: it walks into the selection room on its own.
Jurel’s 160 arrives at the perfect time
Playing for Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Jurel hammered an unbeaten 160 off 101 balls, a knock loaded with authority and range, 15 fours, eight sixes, and the kind of late-innings acceleration that takes a 300-looking total past the 350 mark. Uttar Pradesh finished at 369 for 7, and what stood out wasn’t just the brutality, but the rescue act embedded in it.
UP were cruising early, then stumbled hard, losing wickets in a clump. Dhruv Jurel didn’t merely stabilise, he flipped the tempo. He stitched a substantial partnership with Rinku Singh and then launched again in the closing overs alongside Prashant Veer, turning a tricky rebuild into a scoreboard that forces the chasing side to think aggressively from the onset. His century came in 78 balls, but what followed was pure carnage; the next 60 runs came off just 23 deliveries. That’s not just batting well; that’s the batter taking control of the match’s ceiling.
For Jurel personally, it was a landmark moment: his first List A hundred, and it extended a run that’s becoming harder to ignore. In three innings this season, he has put together three scores above fifty and has stacked runs at a rate that screams modern ODI batting template at its best.
Also Read: Rishabh Pant merits ODI recall vs New Zealand before selectors turn to in-form Ishan Kishan
Why this matters in the selection discussion
Ishan Kishan’s domestic blitz has already added heat to the conversation, because it offers selectors a plug-and-play left-handed option who can change games in a matter of overs. Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, remains one of the most gifted match-winners in the country, but the ODI set-up is a different equation where role clarity, batting position, and the need for rhythm all matter when you are not playing regularly.
Jurel’s reminder lands in that exact gap. He isn’t trying to out-shout anyone; he is putting down the most selector-friendly evidence there is: composure after a collapse, boundary power at the death, and the ability to convert a start into something match-defining. With a home ODI series around the corner and the larger picture of World Cup preparation in hindsight, he has essentially sent one message: if the debate is about form and impact, he wants a seat at the table.
