In the era of T20 cricket where strike rates are being questioned even in red-ball cricket, Abhimanyu Easwaran is one from the old school. The longer the format, the better he gets. He has been selected in the India squad for the first Test of the series after captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out with a dislocated thumb. Chances are high that Easwaran will stay with the Test squad for the second Test as well unless Rohit recovers miraculously ahead of the game.
Abhimanyu Easwaran might not get a chance in the XI as stand-in captain KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are set to be the preferred choices but veteran India cricketer Dinesh Karthik believes Easwaran is someone who ‘banging at the doors’ very hard and will get his opportunity sooner rather than later.
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During a chat on Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said, “Abhimanyu Easwaran has been around the circuit for some time now, has done really well and now deservingly gets his opportunity. He might not play in the XI because of KL Rahul and Shubman Gill… for sure they will open. I can promise you he’s another guy who has been constantly banging at the door.”
He further added, “He has been a very good servant for Bengal in the four or five seasons. His dad is someone who has a fantastic ground in Dehradun, have fond memories of going there. That kid is somebody who has worked so hard, I’ve seen him, I’ve played with him, practice with him. I have seen how hard he works.”
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Abhimanyu Easwaran was pretty consistent with his performances in the four-day Test matches against Bangladesh A. The Bengal captain who was leading India A, scored 299 runs in two matches to emerge as the top run-getter and was naturally considered ahead of the more experienced Mayank Agarwal as Rohit’s replacement. Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar and veteran Jaydev Unadkat too were added to the India squad after putting in the hard yards for years in first-class cricket.
Talking about Unadkat and Saurabh, Dinesh Karthik said, “Credit to the selectors for giving a lot of time to these performances that happen in domestic cricket because sometimes it can go unnoticed, it’s good to see them getting noticed.”
