THE YOUNG GUNS

Acouple of months ago, as the English cricket team, famous for its aggressive and muchhyped Bazball approach, arrived in India for a five-match Test series, the hosts already had their backs against the wall. For, K.L.

Rahul and Shreyas Iyer—seen as the replacements for the veteran Test batting duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara—were battling injuries. To add to India’s misery, its star batter Virat Kohli, too, decided to take a break. It was then that the selectors called upon two youngsters to step into the shoes of these senior players. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Both Dhruv Jurel, 23, and Sarfaraz Khan, 26, made pivotal contributions in their debut series, which India went on to win 4-1. If Sarfaraz scored three 50s in the three Tests that he played, wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv’s resilient 90 in the first inning of the fourth Test followed by an unbeaten 39 in the second inning helped India win the match, and seal the series, even after conceding a first-inning lead.