Dhruv

Jurel

Dhruv Jurel Biography and Career

Dhruv Jurel is an Indian wicket-keeper batsman who plays for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League and for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit. One of the young bloods in the Indian cricket team, Jurel shot to fame after coming into bat as an Impact Player during a game for Rajasthan in IPL 2023. 

Jurel was born on 21 January 2001 in Agra. His father is a Kargil war veteran and served in the Indian Army for years. He wanted his son to join the Army as well, but the younger Jurel’s eyes were set on playing cricket. But, Jurel’s life has been anything but a bed of roses. 

He was just five when his left leg came under the tyre of a bus in Agra and required plastic surgery. He also wanted to become an Armyman like his father but cricket was his destiny. In fact, for the longest time, he did not even tell his father that he was playing professional cricket. He even shared a hilarious story about how his father first came to know about his cricket ambitions.

"Mere father army me the, aur wo kabhi support karte hi nahi the ki main cricket khelun. [My father was in the Army and he never really supported me playing cricket.] He wanted me to get a government job, a secure job," Jurel said in an interview. "One day, he was reading the newspaper and suddenly told me, 'There is a cricketer that goes by the same name as you, and he has scored these many runs.' I got scared and did not know how to tell him this cricketer was me. I was just scared that he might ask me to leave cricket."

When Jurel was 14, he wanted to buy a cricket kit. But his father wanted him to focus on his studies. This was when his mother came to his rescue. She sold her gold chain to buy her son his kit and Jurel’s career took off. 

Jurel made rapid strides in age-group cricket but UP isn’t one of the bigger centres of Indian cricket and he decided to move to Noida with his mother. But the opportunities remained limited. He did not play competitive cricket for two years between 2015 and 2017, which were supposed to be his prime years. Then there was a local tournament in 2017 in Meerut and a 16-year-old Jurel racked up the runs and was spotted by a number of coaches. 

When India went to South Africa for the 2020 Under-19 World Cup, Jurel was named vice-captain. He gave a good account of himself with the bat and behind the stumps as India reached the final of the tournament only to lose to Bangladesh.

Just when it seemed the doors were opening for Jurel, COVID-19 struck and the doors were shut again. He did not take part in the 2020 IPL auction which saw many of his Under-19 teammates earn big money. Then in IPL 2021, Jurel remained unsold. But he remained resolute.

Jurel was picked up by Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2022 auction at base price but did not get a game that season. He impressed on debut in IPL 2023 coming in as an Impact player and has since been a regular member of the Royals setup. He made his List A and Ranji Trophy debut as well for UP and in just his sixth first-class game, he smashed 249 against Nagaland.

The year 2024 turned out to be a memorable one for Jurel. In February, he was surprisingly called up to the national side for the England series. In his debut game in Rajkot, he scored a flawless 46 and then in Ranchi, he brought out his A game.

With India struggling at 177/7, still trailing England by quite a bit, he showed maturity beyond his years as he shepherded the lower order and took India to a fighting total. Jurel smashed six fours and four sixes in his 90 but he wasn’t done yet. In the second innings, with India chasing and in a spot of bother, Jurel crafted a winning stand with Shubman Gill to take his side to victory. Jurel was named player of the match for his solid show in just his second Test.

Jurel has since made his T20I debut as well, while he was also part of the Indian team that travelled to Australia for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Jurel was retained by Royals for a whopping sum of Rs 14 crore for IPL 2025.

Beyond Cricket

Jurel admits that he is a very private person. He says he doesn't like to go out much and keeps to himself. He is also not very active on social media. He loves to work out in the gym and often posts videos and reels on Instagram where he has close to 800,000 followers and around 55,000 on X (earlier Twitter). 

Jurel is still young and is a rising star for brands. He recently signed up as the brand ambassador for the audio brand UBON. He also is a dog lover and spends a lot of time with his pet at home. He is also on BCCI’s contract list.

Records 

Dhruv Jurel Test Records

• Jurel made his Test debut against England in 2024
• In just his second Test, he turned heads by taking India to victory scoring 90 and 36*
• At 23 years and 33 days, Jurel was the fifth-youngest wicket-keeper to win the player of the match award and the second-youngest Indian player

Dhruv Jurel T20I Records

• Jurel made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in July 2024

Dhruv Jurel IPL Records

• Jurel was picked by Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2022 auction, it was in 2023 when he came into his own
• Jurel was retained for a mammoth 14 crore by Rajasthan ahead of the 2025 auction
• Jurel struck at 172.72 during IPL 2024 and became Rajasthan’s designated finisher a number of times