Star Indian batter Abhimanyu Easwaran’s father, Ranganathan, has said that although he is not keeping a count of the days, he is counting the years rather. Notably, several players have debuted since Abhimanyu Easwaran first received an India call-up up but he hasn’t found a place in the XI yet.
It has been 961 days and counting as Abhimanyu Easwaran continues to wait with bated breath for his India debut. While the England tour seemed like his best chance, especially after impressing in the two India A tour games, the continued rejection left him ‘depressed’, said his father, who lashed out at head coach Gautam Gambhir, questioning the logic behind preferring Karun Nair over his son.
Abhimanyu Easwaran’s stellar domestic record
Abhimanyu Easwaran has been on yet another of his formidable runs in domestic cricket, smashing four centuries in consecutive matches across the last four weeks. His run started in the second round of the Duleep Trophy in mid-September, where he notched up an unbeaten 157, before scoring 116 in the third round. He carried the form in Irani Cup to score 191, and later put together a valiant 127 for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy opener last week.
In the last four years, he came close to making an India debut twice in the traditional format, the latest being in the tour of South Africa last December, when he replaced an injured Ruturaj Gaikwad.
KL Rahul, meanwhile, was originally a candidate for the middle order. Since the 2023-24 South Africa tour, Rahul has batted exclusively in the middle order in Test cricket, scoring 339 runs in 10 innings at an average of 37.66 – higher than his career figure of 33.87 over 53 Tests – including a century at Centurion and two fifties.
KL Rahul, however, has plenty of experience of facing the new ball overseas, and is one of only two Asian openers to have scored Test centuries in England, South Africa and Australia. Those high points, however, have come against the backdrop of a less-than-spectacular overall record as opener: 2551 runs in 75 innings at 34.94.
Following his stellar domestic season Abhimanyu Easwaran, In 2021, Abhimanyu Easwaran received two call-ups from the BCCI selectors, albeit as a standby — first for a home Test series against England, and then for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. His first official inclusion in the Indian squad came in 2022, for the Test series against Bangladesh. Since then, he has regularly been part of the Test set-up as a back-up top-order batter but has yet to make his debut.
During the ongoing England tour, India made several changes to their playing XI — including four for the final Test at The Oval — but Abhimanyu Easwaran’s wait continued.Speaking to TimesofIndia.com, Abhimanyu Easwaran’s father, Ranganathan Easwaran, questioned why Nair was preferred over his son. He pointed out that not only has the 29-year-old been consistent in domestic cricket, but he was also picked for the Duleep Trophy, Irani Trophy, and the tour of Australia last year.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has backed batter Abhimanyu Easwaran to make his Test debut sooner rather than later. The Bengal captain has continued to play the role of a benchwarmer since getting his first call-up in the national side in 2021-22.
Despite both Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair struggling at no. 3, Abhimanyu Easwaran was ignored by the team management during the recently-concluded five match Test series against England. Speaking at an event in Kolkata, the former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Ganguly feels Easwaran can solidify his position at no. 3 once he gets his much-awaited debut in the whites.
Abhimanyu Easwaran has age on his side- Sourav Ganguly
India’s legendary captain Sourav Ganguly has backed Bengal batter Abhimanyu Easwaran to push for the No.3 spot in India’s Test team. The experienced domestic run-scorer has been on the fringes of the national side for several years but is yet to make his international debut. Despite consistent performances in first-class cricket, Easwaran has repeatedly missed out on opportunities when the Indian Test XI was reshuffled, also during a time when the current red-ball side is undergoing transition.
Easwaran was part of India’s squads during recent overseas tours of Australia and England but had to warm the bench for the entirety of both series. At a time when even Rohit Sharma was unavailable for the Perth Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, KL Rahul was chosen ahead of him to partner with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Sourav Ganguly believes the 28-year-old still has a chance to make the position his own.
“He has age on his side. I still believe he will get his chance. I feel batters like Yashasvi, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, have all got runs. It’s only the No.3 slot that looked a bit fragile. Maybe Easwaran will be tried there,” Ganguly told the Times of India.
In the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the No.3 position remained unsettled, with the management shuffling between the likes of Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair in that slot. During the tour, Sudharsan scored 140 runs in six innings at an average of 23.33, with two ducks. Nair was promoted to No.3 midway through the series but also struggled to convert his decent starts into meaningful contributions. He scored 205 runs from eight innings, with an average of 25.62.
Recently, Abhimanyu Easwaran’s father also shared that head coach Gautam Gambhir has promised his son a fair run when his chance comes. The Bengal batter has already built an impressive domestic record, 103 first-class matches, 7841 runs at an average of 48.70, and has been a regular leader of the India ‘A’ side. He did bat at No.3 in the second unofficial Test against the England Lions, registering scores of 11 and 80, but still is yet to receive his India cap.
Abhimanyu Easwaran is set to lead East Zone in the 2025 Duleep Trophy. With India locking horns with West Indies and South Africa in the upcoming home Test season, strong performances could finally open the door for the his long-awaited debut.
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