The anticipation of cricketer Abhimanyu Easwaran debuting for India continues to grow. It's been four years since Abhimanyu was added to the Indian Test team in 2021 and traveled to England. However, with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul leading as openers back then, Abhimanyu's opportunity never materialized.
Fast forward to today, Rohit Sharma has retired from Test cricket, and Team India is in transition. Yet, Abhimanyu Easwaran, the right-handed batsman, continues to warm the bench in the current Test series against England. He was also part of the team during the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia but was never included in the playing XI for any of the five matches.
In this time, 16 new players have made their Test debut for India, yet Abhimanyu's chance remains elusive. In Manchester, pacer Anshul Kamboj managed to secure his debut shortly after joining the team. Over this period, players like Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, and Sai Sudharsan have successfully donned the Test cap.
Domestic Cricket Success Story
Abhimanyu Easwaran, born on September 6, 1995, in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, plays domestic cricket for Bengal instead of his home state. His father, RP Easwaran, had established the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy in Purkul village, where Abhimanyu honed his cricketing skills.
Abhimanyu has a remarkable first-class career, playing 103 matches and amassing 7,841 runs at an average of 48.70, with 27 centuries and 31 half-centuries. In List A cricket, from 89 matches, he has scored 3,857 runs with an average of 47.03, including 9 centuries and 23 half-centuries. Additionally, Abhimanyu has appeared in 34 T20 matches, scoring 973 runs at an average of 37.53, including one century and five half-centuries.
Source: aajtak
Recently, Abhimanyu captained India-A against England Lions in two first-class games, delivering stellar half-centuries. Yet, he continues to be overlooked for the Test series. His domestic cricket stats reflect his calibre, making him an excellent third option against England, although preference has been given to Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan.
When Will Abhimanyu's Wait End?
The team management evaluates batsmen based on their performance against fast bowlers in the nets. Batsmen face their true test against bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. It seems that Abhimanyu Easwaran hasn't managed to impress the Indian team management. At 29, time is still on his side, but such prolonged waiting periods can severely test a cricketer's morale...
