What more does Abhimanyu Easwaran need to do? Despite receiving his maiden Test call-up in December 2022, the opener has yet to make his India debut. People question why this happened. Claim the selectors make selections based on Indian Premier League (IPL) performances over domestic cricket.
But, in Easwaran’s case, this assessment isn’t right. The 30-year-old has scored big in domestic cricket, but whenever he’s been promoted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to play for the India A team, he’s returned with lacklustre performances.
Abhimanyu Easwaran’s India A struggles
Australia A travelled to India recently, and he batted just once, so we can look past his performance. But when he played against England Lions earlier in the year in England, Easwaran wasn’t even among India’s three best batters. He scored two fifties on flat surfaces but didn’t get a big one like Karun Nair did with a double hundred.
In 2024, he toured Australia against Australia A and scored 36 runs in 4 innings. That doesn’t give you much promise. And now, against South Africa A at home, Easwaran has recorded a King Pair. He was LBW in both innings, facing 3 balls and recording ducks.
Granted, the pitch was tough, but apart from him, no other top-seven batter recorded a duck. The selectors need to see Easwaran tough it out. Just like Dhruv Jurel’s lone-warrior knock. One inning that shows everyone, yes, I belong at this level. Unfortunately, it hasn’t come.
End of the road?
It’s not what you want from a player with over 100 first-class matches who has been getting constant chances to play for India A. Yes, Easwaran hasn’t gotten his maiden call-up, but one can understand why this is happening. When he goes against slightly tougher opposition, ‘A’ teams, he doesn’t come out on top.
There’s a reason why Sai Sudharsan was played ahead of him in England. The southpaw had scored a tough hundred on that Australia A tour, while Easwaran didn’t look comfortable at all. He’s wasted many chances now. Even one knock of substance against ‘A’ teams would have done the bit, as India still looks for a number three, but that hasn’t happened.
One wonders whether the selectors will stick with him for longer. This might just be the last time the veteran opener plays for India A.
How did India A fare on Day 2?
India A managed to bowl out South Africa A for 221 runs in the 1st innings, with Prasidh Krishna taking a 3-wicket haul while Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj took two wickets each. Kuldeep Yadav and Harsh Dubey took one wicket each. Ackerman was the highest run-scorer for the Proteas, with a 134-run knock. The rest of the batters perished for miserable scores.
No luck for Easwaran, all eyes on Rahul
While Easwaran registered his second consecutive duck, it is Rahul who is leading the charge as he is unbeaten on 26 at the end of Day 2. Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal managed to score 23 and 24 runs respectively before they were sent packing. Kuldeep Yadav, the nightwatchman, will resume the innings with Rahul on Day 3.
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