No IPL, no Test spot? Abhimanyu Easwaran’s Bengal teammate reasons India snub

Abhimanyu Easwaran has been warming the bench for almost 3 years. Time and again, an opportunity comes for India to hand him his Test debut, but each time someone else gets the nod.

Mistreatment of Abhimanyu Easwaran

Let’s recount the last few instances. In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit Sharma was unavailable for the Perth Test. KL Rahul was made to open. Ideally, Easwaran, who’s an opener by trade, should’ve batted alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. But that’s fine; Rahul has been a proven cricketer with over a decade of experience. But then, Devdutt Padikkal plays at number 3 over him.

In England, the opener spot wasn’t available. But number 3 was. As the incumbent, Easwaran should have batted there. But Sai Sudharsan was picked even when Karun Nair wasn’t batting at that position. And then, at home against the West Indies, Easwaran was dropped from India’s Test squad.

Indian legend Ravichandran Ashwin wasn’t pleased. He pointed out that Sudharsan and even Padikkal leapfrogged Easwaran due to being more well known to the selectors and the general public because of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In doing so, they neglect domestic performers.

“IPL has a lot of advantages and disadvantages. See the case of Sai Sudharsan. He is a fabulous player. But how did he leapfrog Abhimanyu Easwaran? His performance in a tournament for 2-3 months has overshadowed the performance that Easwaran has put through the first-class season. Rewarding domestic performers is always up to the selectors. This is happening only because that player has done well in the IPL. Selectors need to see whether they want to reward first-class performances or IPL performances,” Ashwin had said.

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IPL barometer for Test selection?

In an exclusive chat with InsideSport, Easwaran’s Bengal teammate Abishek Porel was asked this question. The 23-year-old has shown some promise for the Delhi Capitals but hasn’t yet had his breakthrough season, in domestic cricket or the IPL.

Although he’s yet to earn a call-up, the left-handed batter knows what it takes to play for India. In some ways, Porel can relate to what Easwaran has been going through. Asked about whether IPL plays a significant role in Test selection, he acknowledged that it’s not nothing.

But Porel added that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has started to prioritise domestic cricket more than before. Earlier in the year, the board made playing domestic cricket mandatory for centrally contracted players when they don’t have any national commitments.

“Obviously, it’s (IPL) important. But domestic cricket and first-class cricket matter as well. Everyone prioritises it now. If you look, even Yashasvi (Jaiswal) is playing. Previously, many India players didn’t play the Ranji Trophy or other domestic tournaments. But now, it’s mandatory,” Porel told InsideSport.

The batter from Bengal believes having a good domestic season is a must. However, if you can back it up with solid IPL performance, your chances do increase. Porel also pointed out that whoever plays Test cricket for India has a great first-class record. Even Sudharsan, who’s been picked on talent more than records, averages over 40.

“If you have a good first-class season and a good IPL season, you certainly have the chance of playing for India. But if you look at those who play at the first-class averages of those who play Test cricket for India, it’s above 40 and 50. Abhimanyu Easwaran hasn’t played, but hopefully he’ll get a chance soon,” he added.

The post No IPL, no Test spot? Abhimanyu Easwaran’s Bengal teammate reasons India snub appeared first on Inside Sport India.