After a heartbreaking 22-run loss in the third Lord's Test against England, India have an eight-day break before the fourth Test begins in Manchester on July 23. The visitors are trailing 1-2 in the five-match Test series. On both losses, the batting collapses have cost Shubman Gill & Co. two victories, which they dominated for the majority of the matches. It is still not clear whether the visitors will make changes in the playing XI, but former Women's coach WV Raman stated that head coach Gautam Gambhir should give clear instructions to Abhimanyu Easwaran.
The Bengal player has been in the Indian Test scheme of things as far as 2022. The domestic stalwart got a call-up during the tour of Bangladesh that year. Since then, he has been with the team for the New Zealand series and the BGT Series Down Under in 2024. However, the right-hand batter is yet to make his Test debut. Raman stated that Easwaran needs to be spoken with at length and informed clearly what the team thinks of him now, and in the future.
Despite consistently making it to Indian squads, the Bengal player is only warming the bench. The expert feels Gambhir needs to speak with the batter and find out if he will make his debut anytime sooner, as there is no need to persist with him if he does not make his debut.
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"For someone like Abhimanyu Easwaran, it is fair to give them a string of chances. One odd sporadic Test is not going to work for the individual or the team. People have to take a call on him. There is, of course, no point in carrying a cricketer tour after tour and not giving him opportunities. Judgmental calls are fine because that’s the nature of the beast in cricket. Coaches and selectors do make judgmental calls. The thing is that there comes a time when it becomes a little bit tricky for everybody concerned because the player himself doesn’t know how he is looked at," Raman told RevSportz.
“The team management is also not sure what to do with one particular player. I am not saying Abhimanyu is not good. It’s better if the decision makers come to a conclusion and decide what exactly he is all about. He has been performing in domestic cricket for a long time. He has been part of the A sides. He is even being made the captain of the A side, which means they do rate him. But he doesn’t seem to be getting the nod.”
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Easwaran's bad luck continues as the batter is ignored yet again
It's been three Tests, and there is no sign of Abhimanyu Easwaran making his impending Test debut after being continuously selected for over three years in India A and main squads. When Rohit Sharma retired, it seemed perfect to launch the Bengal batter. However, KL Rahul was promoted up the order for the England series after impressing in the BGT series as an opener. However, the number three spot was vacant for the ongoing England series.
That spot first went to Sai Sudarshan, and later, for two Tests, to Karun Nair. Both batters, however, have not made the number three spot their own.
