Just 15 to 20 minutes of nets and then straight to the MCG. That’s what Dhruv Jurel had in terms of preparation before taking the field for India A in a four-day clash with Australia A.

Jurel and KL Rahul reached Australia ahead of the other Team India cricketers. But unlike Rahul, who despite two solid nets sessions, looked clueless at the MCG during the India A game, keeper-batsman Jurel came up with gritty knocks in both innings. That when the other batsmen in the side struggled with the extra bounce and movement off the pitch.

India A lost at MCG, but Jurel, making a statement with efforts of 80 and 68, has also sent a strong message to the Team India management. Coming in when the side was reeling at 11/4 in the first innings and then 44/4 in the second, Jurel, at No.6, churned out two knocks of character which underlined his temperament. That’s an aspect which quite a few current Team India batters need to address, especially after the 0-3 drubbing at home against New Zealand.

In the circumstances, it won’t be wrong to say that the composed Jurel, who’s also in the good books of the current selection panel, stands a fair chance of making India’s XI for the opening Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Perth beginning on November 22.

“The two innings in Melbourne certainly give a fair reflection of Jurel’s temperament and how composed he can remain even in trying circumstances. That wasn’t just in this India A game, but also in his debut series (early this year) against England in both the Rajkot and Ranchi Tests where he scored runs alongside stitching crucial partnerships.

“So, with the batting group not being at its best, the team needs someone in good rhythm at the moment. It gives the impression that Jurel will be there for the first Test at least,” a BCCI insider told The Telegraph on Sunday.

If selected for the series opener against Pat Cummins and Co., Jurel could play as a specialist batsman with first-choice keeper-batter Rishabh Pant donning the wicketkeeping gloves. “Behind the stumps too, Jurel does a smart job and has proven his capability.

“So, giving him the wicketkeeper’s gloves and including Pant as a specialist batter is another choice the team has,” the Board source stated.

On his debut in Rajkot back in February, Jurel scored 46 and featured in a 77-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Ravichandran Ashwin that had stretched India’s first-innings total past 400. Thereafter, in Ranchi, on a sluggish surface where the ball kept low, his scores of 90 and unbeaten 39 won India the Test as well as the series.

Precisely, Jurel has proven he can put his hand up and deliver in times of crises, being the man capable of providing the middle order with some sort of stability. Alongside his solid defence, Jurel also ensures to cash in on anything loose.

He did so in Ranchi during the critical 76-run eighth-wicket partnership with Kuldeep Yadav after India were wobbling at 177/7 in response to England’s 353. That innings of his and the partnership had brought India back into the contest.

In Melbourne too, against an Australia A attack that featured Scott Boland and Michael Neser, Jurel never seemed to be in two minds when the ball was pitched in his arc. In fact, he brought up his half-century in the first innings with a smacking pull that fetched him half a dozen. He wasn’t afraid to play the upper cut as well when the ball was dug in short and a shade outside the off-stump.

On a gruelling tour, Jurel can be an asset.