Abhimanyu Easwaran keeps scoring; selectors keep ignoring

One of the unluckiest players of the current generation, Abhimanyu Easwaran, has done everything in his control to demand a place in the Indian Test set-up. However, despite scoring thousands of runs in the last few years, the 29-year-old is yet to make his India debut.

The right-handed opener from Bengal, who made his first-class debut in December 2013, has been one of the most consistent batters in the domestic circuit for a while. And he proved his worth once again in the second round of the Duleep Trophy. 

Easwaran, who is leading India B in the red-ball competition, crafted 157* off 286 deliveries against India C at the Rural Development Trust Stadium B in Anantapur. The opener carried the bat as his team was bundled out for 332 in the first innings, conceding a lead of 193.

Having been dismissed for scores of 13 and 4 in the first round, Easwaran made a tremendous comeback in the second round. After his team allowed India C to amass 525 in the first innings, India B needed their skipper to score big, and that’s exactly what he did. 

Easwaran first put on an opening stand of 129 with N Jagadeesan (70), but once the latter perished, wickets started falling at regular intervals. No other batter crossed the 25-run mark, so Easwaran took it upon himself to make sure India B got to a respectable total. 

The right-handed batter, who hit 14 fours and a six in his 286-ball stay in the middle, added 46 runs with Sai Kishore (21) for the seventh wicket. Easwaran had some handy partnerships with lower-order batters but soon ran out of partners. India B were eventually bowled out for 332 but Easwaran remained unbeaten. 

This isn’t the first time Easwaran has proven his mettle in red-ball cricket. Since 2017, the opener has slammed 5,507 runs in 73 games at an average of 49.17, studded with 19 fifties and 20 centuries. Amongst Indian batters, only Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari have scored more first-class runs than Easwaran in this period.

Easwaran might not have been able to make his India debut but the batter has regularly been part of the India A set-up and has also led them on multiple occasions. The opener has featured in 26 first-class games for India A, scoring 1,662 runs at an average of 42.62. He has five half-centuries and six hundreds to his name. 

Easwaran has received an India call-up a couple of times but has never been able to get into the playing XI. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill came into the picture after him but have now become regular members of the Indian Test team. Ruturaj Gaikwad is also in the mix, so there’s no guarantee that Easwaran will get his much-deserved opportunity anytime soon.

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