WI Test series: How long will Easwaran have to wait to make the cut ?

The agonising wait for Abhimanyu Easwaran, the prolific Bengal batter, to join India’s playing XI for the Tests continues — he has been ignored again for the two-Test series at home against the West Indies next month.

Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan also did not find favour, ostensibly due to an injury, while the 15-member squad announced on 25 September, Thursday, held hardly any surprises beyond these.

It has turned out to be a ‘curious case’ for Easwaran again, however — he has been accompanying the national squad for overseas tours time and again, but has failed to inspire enough confidence in the current regime of Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill, as well as their predecessors. As someone with close to 8,000 runs in first-class cricket, including 27 centuries, he has been part of the touring party multiple times since 2021 — whether as a third opener or as a stand-by middle-order batter — but the breaks refuse to come.

In the recent Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy in England, where India fielded a new-look team sans Rohit Kohli and Virat Kohli, one thought Easwaran may get his time at last, as Gambhir was juggling the top order around. The nod never came, however. An emotional interview with his father on Vicky Lalwani’s YouTube show, reported in the Times in India, where he spoke up about his son’s emotional distress, likely did not help Easwaran’s case either; or the senior Easwaran’s overt comparison of his son with Nair.

Responding to a query about Easwaran’s exclusion, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said: “Normally, when you travel, you carry 16 or 17. You take a third opener. Here if there is an injury or something, you can always fly a guy out. Here we have an extra allrounder in Axar Patel, who wasn’t part of the England tour. We can only pick 15. There is nothing to his story. KL and Jaiswal have done well, so we don’t need a third opener in the squad. If need be, we can fly him and play a Test,” Agarkar added. 

According to a conservative estimate, more than 15 players have made their debuts since Easwaran’s call-up as he has continued to bide his time.

The elevation of senior allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, 36, as vice-captain comes in the wake of Rishabh Pant not being available as he is recovering from the foot injury sustained during the England series. A member of the Old Guard who is certainly on the home stretch of his career, Jadeja’s vice-captaincy can be treated as an offer of gratitude for his allround brilliance in the last England tour. “We’re hopeful that he (Pant) will be available for South Africa (Tests) and Jaddu’s been one of your top performers, so there’s a lot of experience,” Agarkar said.

Pace warhead Jasprit Bumrah will be available for both Tests, despite discussions around workload management in England, where he missed two of the five matches. “This team is for both Tests so Bumrah is available for both Tests. We had a fair break, and he didn't play the fifth Test vs England. So we had a fair break. Even the Asia Cup has been spaced out well till the last week. So Bumrah is ready and keen to play both matches,’’ Agarkar added. 

Meanwhile, Karun Nair – who made a fairytale comeback in the Tests in England after eight years – was dumped, with Devdutt Padikkal returning to the squad. Nair featured in four matches but managed just a solitary half-century, scored in the final Test at The Oval.

The first of two Tests against Roston Chase’s team is from 2-6 October in Ahmedabad; while the second one if from 10-14 October in Delhi.

The Squad

• Shubman Gill (captain)

• Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain)

• Yashasvi Jaiswal

• K.L. Rahul

• Sai Sudharsan

• Devdutt Padikkal

• Dhruv Jurel

• Washington Sundar

• Jasprit Bumrah

• Axar Patel

• Nitish Kumar Reddy

• Mohammed Siraj

• Prasidh Krishna

• Kuldeep Yadav

• Narayan Jagadeesan