All eyes were on KL Rahul to end his slumping performances in the whites for India and gain some confidence, heading into the Border Gavaskar Trophy Test series against Australia. But, the wicket-keeper batter who made the strongest case for himself over playing XI selection for the Perth Test is Dhruv Jurel. Rahul and Jurel were sent to Australia early, to join the India A team for the 3-match unofficial Test series against Australia A. While the veteran Rahul couldn't stand up to the expectations in the second match, Jurel grabbed the opportunities thrown at him with both hands.
Rahul could only register scores of 4 and 10 in the two innings. Jurel, on the other hand, registered knocks of 80 and 68, emerging as India A's top-scoring batter in both the innings. In the process, Jurel made a strong case for himself, knocking on the senior Indian team's doors for playing XI selection.
Jurel wasn't just a treat to watch with the bat. He also looked good with the gloves, especially while taking a remarkable catch of Jimmy Peirson on the bowling of Prasidh Krishna. However, it is unlikely that Jurel will get Rishabh Pant's place behind the stumps when India take on Australia in the series opener at Perth.
While Jurel was undoubtedly the brightest performers with the bat, there were a few bowlers who did quite well in the second unofficial Test at MCG. Of the lot, Prasidh Krishna emerged as the No. 1 pick, claiming 2 and 4 wickets in the two innings respectively.
Prasidh also did reasonably well with the bat, especially on a track where India A's top-order crumbled. In the two innings, he recorded scores of 14 and 29 respectively to help the tourists put respectable totals on the board.
Alongside Jurel, Prasidh has also made a brave case for himself over the Perth Test playing XI selection.