During the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, a startling stat made for grim viewing for Bengal batter Abhimanyu Easwaran. Since his first call-up into the Test side, the Bengal batter has remained on the sidelines without ever getting a nod for a spot in the playing 11. In the same timeline, 15 other players have pipped Easwaran and went onto make their debut in the longest format for India.
Easwaran’s first call-up into the Test side came three years ago in Bangladesh in December 2022, when he replaced then-captain Rohit Sharma in the squad following his injury. The 29-year-old was also part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour to Australia in the 2024-25 season, but with Rohit, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal jostling for space in the top-order, Easwaran remained on the fringes.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has backed his Bengal statemate to make a breakthrough soon enough as India’s No. 3 options Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair did not quite seal the spot during the England tour. Speaking at an event in Kolkata, Ganguly felt that the 29-year-old Easwaran could present his case at number three soon enough
“He has age on his side. I still believe he will get his chance,” said Ganguly, as quoted by the Times of India.
“I feel batters like Yashasvi (Jaiswal), KL Rahul, (Shubman) Gill, (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 out there,” he added.
Easwaran’s father, Ranganathan, recently gave an explosive interview where he lamented that the team management had assured him of a long run in whites despite being remaining on the bench for nearly four years.
“Gautam Gambhir, when he spoke to my son, he assured him see you you’re doing the right kind of things you’ll get your turn you’ll get a long run. ‘I’m not the one who will push you out after one or two matches. I’ll give you a long rope.’ That’s what my son communicated to me. The entire coaching team assured him that he’ll get his due, he’ll get his long run. That’s the best I can say. My son is waiting for 4 years, He’s put in 23 years of hard work,” Ranganathan said in an interview on Vickey Lalwani’s YouTube channel.
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“He should have played one down. There is no question. There are not second thoughts about it. No ill feelings for Sai Sudharsan. Where does he fit in? 0, 30, 61, 0 (Sai Sudharsan’s score in Leeds and Manchester Tests). They could have tried Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu has played about 30% of his matches at Eden Gardens, which a green track and he’s got experience of playing on green tracks and the record suggest Abhimanyu is a player who holds the innings for a long time. Records speak,” Abhimanyu Easwaran’s father said.
