PAARL: Over the years, the essence of IPL franchises has been to ‘catch them young and watch them grow’.
On Friday evening, as Paarl Royals began their campaign in the Betway SA20 league here with a resounding win over Pretoria Capitals, it was a day of double delight for the Royals’ director of cricket,
Kumar Sangakkara
.
As the contest was under way, the news of wicketkeeper-batter
Dhruv Jurel
’s maiden national senior team came in.
A visibly pleased Sangakkara speaking about the 22-year-old said, “I’m feeling very proud and happy because one of our key motivators and performance indicators in the IPL is to produce players for India and we have produced quite a lot over the years. Jurel is the latest addition. He is a brilliant young man, a very good player and has worked hard to get where he is.
“Dhruv’s work ethics and demeanour stands out. He came in at a very difficult position for Rajasthan Royals (last season) and scored a lot of runs. He is a match-winner in the short format, but it is a real test of his technique, character and application to be in the Test side.” the Sri Lankan batting great said.
Jurel, who made his first-class debut for Uttar Pradesh in the 2021-2022 season, is known more for his white-ball exploits.
Sangakkara played it safe when asked about Jurel’s maturity as a red-ball player.
“I think it is up to the selectors on how they want to construct their red and white ball teams. Our job is to produce the best players, so they get their opportunities in any format,” he said.
‘FANS DICTATE DIRECTION OF CRICKET’
With a bulk of IPL franchises owning leagues across the globe, Sangakkara did not rule out the possibility of franchises offering central contracts to star cricketers.
“That (central contracts) could be a great possibility and the ICC and home boards will have to make some tough decisions on how we will keep cricket relevant. If you are not getting spectators to stadiums, the sport is in trouble.
“The game is healthy and on the cusp of going in a new direction. It is about making sure it addresses the needs of all stakeholders, the public and the players,” he said.
English (US) ·