Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran has been ruled out for several weeks with a hairline fracture in his finger, according to The Times of India. Easwaran, who was part of the Indian squad during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia but did not play a Test, injured the middle finger on his right hand.
India suffered a 1-3 defeat to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Abhimanyu Easwaran, among others, was dropped without playing any of the five Tests despite being part of the squad. The Bengal opener, known for his consistent performances with the India A teams, suffered the injury during a club match.
Abhimanyu Easwaran sustains hairline fracture on middle finger
Abhimanyu Easwaran will miss the upcoming Ranji Trophy matches due to a fracture in his right middle finger. Notably, Easwaran has been on the cusp of national team selection for several years.
“Yes, he suffered a fracture in the middle finger of his right hand while playing a club match,” a BCCI source revealed to The Times of India.
Bengal, who are in the elite Group C, will next play Haryana in the second leg of the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy starting Thursday, January 23. Bengal are currently third in the group with 14 points after five matches. ..
Abhimanyu Easwaran boasts an impressive first-class cricket record
Abhimanyu Easwaran has an impressive record in first-class cricket, scoring 7,674 runs in 101 matches at an average of 48.87, including 27 centuries and 29 half-centuries, with a highest score of 233. He also scored 3,857 runs in 89 List A matches at an average of 47.03 with nine hundreds and 23 fifties.
However, Easwaran struggled in the two unofficial Tests between India A and Australia A, scoring just 36 runs at an average of 9.00 in four innings. He was billed as a replacement for Rohit Sharma, but KL Rahul opened the innings and India secured an imposing 295-run win in the series opener.
Don't know if Indian team will look at him again or not – Aakash Chopra
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has expressed doubts over Abhimanyu Easwaran's future as a Test opener for India. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra discussed potential candidates for India's Test plans and wondered if Easwaran was still in the selectors' consideration.
“There were two domestic performers in the team during BGT but they were not given a chance. One was Abhimanyu Easwaran and the second was Sarfaraz Khan. They saw Abhimanyu Easwaran in the India A matches. He didn't pleasant and was thrown away,” said Chopra.
“He was declared a failure without being given a chance, which is a bit sad, but that's the reality. Abhimanyu Easwaran is 29. I don't know if the Indian team will look at him again or not. However, let's be very honest, if Rohit Sharma goes, an opener has to come,” the former India batsman added.
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