Dhruv Jurel picks Virat Kohli over Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma over Ricky Ponting

Dhruv Jurel recently appeared on Aakash Chopra’s popular talk show, Baith & Bol, where he faced a series of cricketing questions. The India wicketkeeper-batter had to choose between modern stars and legendary players while comparing their signature shots and bowling skills.

The 25-year-old cricketer is also gaining importance in India’s white-ball setup. Jurel recently earned a place in the ODI squad for the upcoming three-match home series against the West Indies, getting the nod ahead of Rishabh Pant as KL Rahul’s backup wicketkeeper.

Dhruv Jurel Picks Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah

During the rapid-fire segment, Aakash Chopra asked Dhruv Jurel to choose between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar for the best cover drive. The wicketkeeper-batter picked Kohli over the legendary former India batter.

Jurel then faced another difficult choice when asked to select the better pull-shot player between current India captain Rohit Sharma and former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. The middle-order batter quickly picked Rohit Sharma.

For the best yorker, Jurel again backed an Indian teammate. He chose Jasprit Bumrah over former Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga.

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Aakash Chopra Teases Dhruv Jurel Over Recency Bias

Aakash Chopra noticed that Jurel had selected three current or recent India stars and jokingly suggested that his choices could be influenced by the fact that he has shared the dressing room with them.

“Are you saying all this kyunki in sab ke saath tum khele ho, Sachin paaji ke saath khele nahi tum… aur Ponting ko bhi saath mein nahi khele ho. I mean thoda recency bias hai, but all of them are absolutely outstanding,” Chopra said during the interview.

[Are you saying all this because you have played with all of them, whereas you haven’t played with Sachin paaji? And you haven’t played with Ponting either. I mean, there is a bit of recency bias, but all of them are absolutely outstanding.]

Jurel laughed off Chopra’s observation. He has picked experienced Indian teammates who have established themselves among the leading players in international cricket.

Dhruv Jurel Builds Strong Case Across Formats

Dhruv Jurel’s white-ball career is still in its early stages. He received his maiden T20I call-up for India’s 2024 tour of Zimbabwe and earned his first ODI call-up ahead of the 2025 Australia tour. He has played only four T20Is so far and is yet to make his ODI debut.

His performances in domestic cricket and the IPL 2026 season helped him return to the ODI setup. The Uttar Pradesh batter impressed in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy before earning selection as Rahul’s backup for the West Indies series.

Jurel has already made a strong impact in Test cricket. In only his second Test appearance, against England in Ranchi in 2024, he scored 90 and 39 on a difficult pitch and won the Player of the Match award.

He faced competition from Sarfaraz Khan before India’s tour of Sri Lanka in August but retained his place in the playing XI. Jurel responded with 173 runs in three innings at an average of 86.50, including his maiden overseas century. He finished as India’s second-highest run-scorer in the series.

Source: cricketaddictor.com