Abhimanyu Easwaran further harms his India chances with a pair in 2nd unofficial Test for India A
Indian domestic veteran Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has been travelling with the Indian Test team as the backup opener for a few years now, is yet to get his India debut and the hopes of that seem to be fading away after the Bengal opener recorded a pair in the second unofficial Test for India A.
The curious case of Abhimanyu Easwaran! A perfectly aligned technical batter, who has over 8,000 first-class runs in his name, is yet to get his India cap and the hopes of a debut seem to be fading away for the 30-year-old. Easwaran, who has been travelling with the Indian Test team as the backup opener for a few years now, hasn't made his debut and now has scored two ducks in the second unofficial Test against South Africa A at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Easwaran, who was coming off an unbeaten half-century against Uttarakhand in the Ranji Trophy opener, has failed to pass the selectors' eye test and hence, hasn't gotten his opportunities and the pair in the India A clash, further diminished his chances of getting a call-up, given Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal, currently with the Indian team, are ahead of him in the pecking order.
Easwaran has been a Ranji stalwart but there is a saying 'you need to be at the right place at the right time' and unfortunately for the Bengal batter, in crucial matches, he has been unable to score runs. Yes, Easwaran had scores of 80 and 68 for India A against the England Lions before the Test series, but the returns of 0, 17, 7 and 12 before the Australia Tests probably closed some of the doors in selectors' and team management's minds.
With Dhruv Jurel pushing for a spot in the Test side just as a batter, Sai Sudharsan could increasingly be considered as a backup opener in the squad and hence, there's every chance the doors might completely be shut on Easwaran, if they already weren't. When the likes of Sudharsan and Karun Nair played in England, Easwaran not getting a single chance was a surprise and probably a sign of what's to come.
It would be unfortunate if Easwaran didn't get to play even one Test but even when other players are getting 20s-30s in the ongoing South Africa A red-ball game, those two ducks would stand out.
As for the match, India came back outstandingly well with the ball to bowl South Africa A out for 221, taking a lead of 34 runs, before adding 78 for the loss of three wickets in the second innings, at the stumps on Day 2.