Dhruv Jurel is one of the latest wonders to climb up the ladder of Indian cricket and this is another big step in the career of the 23-year-old cricketer in being appointed the captain of the Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy that marks the start of the season. Action gets underway on August 28 in Bengaluru and Jurel is the man to steer the team into, as he puts it, another feather in his cap; a breakthrough year on the international front.
Dhruv Jurel captaincy fuels Rajasthan Royals speculation
Such new nomination is an indication of this newfound trust that the selectors now have in Jurel. His breakthrough came up after he joined the England tour to replace Rishabh Pant. He was backed to take the stumps at the third and fourth Tests and the experts were relying on him to begin the fifth Test of the series at The Oval.
India subsequently registered a six-run victory in that match with the calmness and accuracy of Jurel being critical in that endeavour. His cool composure in unexpected situations is the mark of his young career, whether at the Indian national or domestic cricketing level.
On Thursday, Rajasthan Royals shared a congratulatory post reading: “Ek hoga jo stumps ke peeche se game badal dega.” It seemed to be typically a party celebrating the achievement of their player but timing questioned it all because, it was not even 12 hours after news of the incumbent captain Sanju Samson having requested to be released in time before the next IPL auction in 2026.
Ek hoga jo stumps ke peeche se game badal dega 🔥 pic.twitter.com/P5cK4hX5mf
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) August 8, 2025
The Royals have not said much about the matter and the post did not even refer to Samson. Nevertheless, the crossover has raised speculation as it has left fans asking questions whether the franchise could already be considering a change of leadership.
Central Zone’s powerful squad under Dhruv Jurel
The fact that he will be the head coach of Central Zone will provide Jurel with the opportunity to manage a squad full of potentials. The twenty-two-man squad involves Kuldeep Yadav who did not play a single one of the five tests in England but is an essential component of India spin weaponry.
Kuldeep will split duties with Harsh Dubey of Vidarbha, whose Ranji Trophy season was record-breaking this year with 69 wickets and Manav Suthar of Rajasthan. The two combine to make a powerful spin bowling attack that could cause trouble to even the best of batting line-ups.
Batting depth and pace attack to watch
Their batting is centred around Yash Rathod of Vidarbha who is the highest scorer in Ranji trophy in last season scoring 960 runs. Consistency will be a major factor and his alliance with teammate Danish Malewar who won a decisive role in the Ranji final is a point of solidity.
Khaleel Ahmed has played some recent county cricket with Essex in the pace department, but Deepak Chahar also has just come back to IPL stumps after an injury. The two bowlers bring depth and diversity to the front line of Central Zone and they on paper is a balanced bowling attack.
Dhruv Jurel’s big test before IPL decisions loom
The coach in charge of this team will be Usman Ghani who led Vidarbha to domestic success in his previous season. The fact that he is familiar with some members of the squad may prove to be tactical against Jurel who is on his first major captaincy assignment.
As much as the Duleep Trophy is the obvious cause of concern right now, Jurel is not going anywhere with regard to his growing leadership profile as well as the fact that the Rajasthan Royals are quiet on the question of Samson means that the hinder will continue to stay afloat. Intentional signaling mechanisms or not, his captaincy announcement has now turned out to be more than a headline in domestic cricket.
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