Just scroll through some old news copies before India’s tour of England in 2021, and you will find one name who has been constantly on the fringes of the national Test squad – Abhimanyu Easwaran. He was one of the standbys for both the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the subsequent Test series against England. As it happened, he didn’t partake in any of the Test matches.
More than a year later, he was included in the Test squad for the Bangladesh series. But with KL Rahul and Shubman Gill in the mix, he had to again sit out. Last year, too, Easwaran was among the players picked for the Australian tour, only to miss out on making his Test debut. It feels as if destiny hasn’t been kind to Easwaran, who has close to 8000 first-class runs. So, what could be the reasons behind him not finding a place in the playing XI in the Test format? Will he earn his long-awaited berth in the Test XI in England? Let’s take a deep dive to find the answers.
One of them is obviously tough competition for places in the top order. Over the last few years, the likes of KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have occupied the top-3 slots. Among that lot, Rohit has quit Test cricket. But at the same time, Sai Sudharsan has emerged as one of the brightest hopes when it comes to the longest format. With Jaiswal and Rahul expected to open in the forthcoming series in England, Easwaran might have to again bide his time.
Secondly, Easwaran is very much an old-school batter who doesn’t play the Indian Premier League (IPL). In fact, the Bengal cricketer hasn’t featured in a T20 game since October 2023. Maybe, just maybe, playing in the IPL gives a player more visibility. A cricketer gets the opportunity to perform in front of millions of viewers, alongside taking on some of the best bowlers going around. It is true that it is a completely different format. But over a period of time, it feels as if performances in the IPL do count to some extent.
Incidentally, Easwaran has also notched up over 1600 runs for India A in the longest format. Only Gautam Gambhir has aggregated more runs for India A in red-ball cricket. Unfortunately for Easwaran, he flopped miserably during the India A-Australia A series, which took place just before the India-Australia Test series. He could average a mere 9 as he struggled against Jordan Buckingham, Nathan McAndrew and Michael Neser. In different climes, if Easwaran had aggregated tall scores in that series, it could have opened up a spot for him in the five-Test rubber. Especially when you consider the fact that Rohit was out of form.
Easwaran, however, seems undeterred by those minor setbacks. Last heard, he was practicing against the Dukes ball ahead of the England tour. Alongside being selected in the main Test squad, he is also the captain of the A team that will lock horns with England Lions in a couple of games. He has one more golden chance to catch the eyeballs of the think-tank on tour, with noteworthy performances against Chris Woakes, Sam Baker and co. Easwaran will turn 30 this year. It is high time that he grabs the opportunities in A-tour fixtures with both hands.