"Karun Nair wasn't even in team": Abhimanyu Easwaran’s father slams BCCI in frustration

Abhimanyu Easwaran’s father, Ranganathan Easwaran, has delivered a stinging rebuke to India’s selectors after his son was once again left out of the playing XI for the fifth Test against England at The Oval. Despite scoring heavily in domestic cricket and waiting patiently since his maiden call-up in December 2022, Abhimanyu is yet to make his Test debut. A long list of 15 cricketers have made their debuts for India since Easwaran’s maiden call-up. However, the Bengal batter has remained in the sidelines.

Easwaran’s father speaks his heart out

Abhimanyu Easwaran’s father, Ranganathan Easwaran, has had enough of waiting. “I’m not keeping a count of the number of days that Abhimanyu has been waiting for his Test debut. I am counting the years; it has been three years now. What is the job of a player? It is to score runs. He has done that,” Ranganathan said while speaking to the Times of India. “Karun Nair wasn’t even in the team during the period when Abhimanyu performed before the BGT. Abhimanyu scored close to 864 runs if you consider the period from last year to the current year.”

Despite that, India went with Karun Nair in the fifth Tests, even after dropping him once for poor returns in the fourth Test. Easwaran Sr.’s anger reflects the frustration of many who see domestic runs being overlooked for revolving-door selections.

“Stop using IPL to pick Test teams”

Adding to his ire, Easwaran Sr. hit out at how IPL success has started bleeding into red-ball selections. “Some players jump the gun based on IPL performances, which earn them a spot in the Test team. IPL performances should not be counted while selecting the team for the longest format. Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, and Irani Trophy should be the basis for Test selection,” he said, indirectly pointing at Sai Sudharsan, who debuted this series despite missing tour games due to IPL commitments.

Abhimanyu’s resume is hard to ignore: 103 first-class matches, 7841 runs at 48.70, 27 hundreds, and a stellar 2023-24 season that saw him notch 127*, 191, 157*, 200*, and more. He even struck 68 and 80 in the tour games against England Lions. However, he has watched from the sidelines as Sudharsan, Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajat Patidar, and even debutant Nitish Reddy leapfrogged him.

Since Easwaran’s maiden call-up in 2021, India have handed 15 Test debuts. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane faded away, and KL Rahul moved up to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Karun Nair, meanwhile, has been dropped and recalled in the same series. For Easwaran though, it has been one long, unbroken wait.

With Jaiswal and Rahul settled as openers and Sudharsan favoured at No. 3, Easwaran’s path remains blocked. As his father summed it up: “My son looks a little depressed, but that is bound to happen.” His only hope now lies in India’s home season against the West Indies and South Africa.