Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel will play the opening Test against South Africa here and all-rounder Nitish Kumart Reddy is set to be the one who makes way for him in the line-up, India’s assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate said on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Jurel, who has played seven Tests so far, has struck four centuries in his last five first-class matches, including twin hundreds against South Africa ‘A’ in Bengaluru last week.
With first-choice wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant back after recovering from a foot fracture he suffered during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July, there were questions over whether the management would find room for Jurel.
But Ten Doeschate said they were “clear” about their combination ahead of the opening Test at the Eden Gardens beginning Friday.
“I think we’ve got a pretty good idea of the combination, and I don’t think you can leave them (Jurel and Pant) out for this Test — that’s the short answer,” Ten Doeschate told reporters at a media interaction here.
“I would be very surprised if you don’t see Dhruv and Rishabh playing in this Test this week,” he added.
Now a year and a half into his international career, Jurel has shown poise and maturity beyond his experience.
Since mid-September 2025, his first-class form has been remarkable with scores of 140, 56, 125, 44, 132 not out and 127 not out across five matches (including Ranji, Test and ‘A’ games). His first-class average has surged from 47.34 to 58.00, making it impossible to overlook him.
“Given the way Dhruv (Jurel) has gone in the last six months, and scoring two hundreds in Bangalore last week, he is certain to play this week,” Ten Doeschate added.
Earlier it was reported that Jurel would come in as a pure batter with Pant reclaiming the wicketkeeper’s gloves, and Ten Doeschate confirmed that Reddy would be the one to miss out.
Asked about Reddy’s omission, the former Netherlands cricketer said, “In the West Indies series, Nitish played both Tests and we said it was important to groom him for the future. So yes, we do look at him as a potential player who is playing to learn.
“But I also said strategy comes first. The primary thing is to set out a strategy to win the game. If you can accommodate giving guys a chance for development, that comes in.
“Our position certainly hasn’t changed on Nitish. He didn’t get much game time in Australia. But given the importance of this series and the conditions we think we’re going to face, he (Nitish Kumar Reddy) might miss out in this Test this week,” Ten Doeschate added.
The assistant coach also highlighted India’s depth and flexibility in the lower middle order, thanks to their spin-bowling all-rounders.
“Again, like what I mentioned about Washi (Washington Sundar), Axar (Patel), and Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) – for me, you’ve actually got three batters there. So, it does give us a lot of flexibility,” he said, hinting that Axar Patel could return to the XI in place of Kuldeep Yadav.
The seam-bowling all-rounder had a modest outing in the West Indies series that India swept 2-0, bowling just four overs in the opening Test and going wicket-less.
His contribution with the bat was 43 from one innings. In the subsequent ODI series in Australia, he scored 19 not out and 8 in two matches.
Reddy has been released from the India Test team and will now link up with the India A team in Rajkot for the One-Day series against South Africa A starting on Thursday.