The left-handed opening batter of Bengal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, was with the national side during the recently concluded five-match series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 but didn’t feature in a single game, despite the struggle of their top order batters, including the two superstars of the side, Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma.
Kohli could club just 190 runs in nine innings of the series at an average of 23.75, with the best score of an unbeaten 100 runs. Rohit, on the flip side, could smash only 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20 before deciding to opt out of the fifth and final red-ball fixture at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Abhimanyu Easwaran could have slotted in the top order, especially with the injury of young Shubman Gill, who was chasing the eighth-stump deliveries to get caught either into the hands of the wicket-keeper or at slips.
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The only two games for Abhimanyu Easwaran in Australia came during the two A-encounters before the start of the tour in Mackay and Melbourne. The right-handed batter couldn’t perform against the home bowlers’ pace and bounce with low scores of 7, 12, 17, and a duck across four innings.
Abhimanyu Easwaran is out of action for a few weeks with a hairline fracture
A day after the end of the BGT 2024-25, he returned to Vadodara and faced Haryana in the preliminary quarter-final game for Bengal in the recently ended Vijay Hazare Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. The Dehradun-born could just manage ten runs on the board before picking up a hairline fracture on the middle finger of his right hand and getting out of the action for the next few weeks, as reported by Times of India.
That means Abhimanyu Easwaran will not be able to take part in the next few clashes of the coming rounds of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25. He is certain to be unavailable for their next clash against Haryana in the sixth round and will struggle to return for the seventh and last round of the group phase against Punjab, starting on January 30.
“Yes, he has sustained a hairline fracture on the middle finger of his right hand while playing a club match.” A TOI report was quoted as saying by the BCCI source.
Bengal will be missing the 29-year-old who has already drilled 7674 runs in the first-class format in 173 innings at an average of nearly 49 and a strike rate of around 54, shouldering on 27 centuries and 29 half-centuries with the best score of 233 runs. In the 50-over domestic format, Abhimanyu Easwaran has smashed 3857 runs in 87 innings at an average of 47.03, thanks to nine centuries and 23 half-centuries at the best score of 149.
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The constant struggle of the veteran players meant that the selectors would be keeping a close eye on the youngsters performing in the Ranji circuit, and the Bengal captain has been doing it for years now. India has a five-match Test series trip in England in June, and it won’t be a surprise if Eswaran gets included not only in the squad but also earns the maiden cap.
In the only game of this edition of the Ranji Trophy, Abhimanyu Easwaran grabbed 132 runs in two innings with the best score of unbeaten 127 runs. Bengal is currently in the third position in Group C of the points table, with a single victory in five clashes at the net run rate of +1.276. The table is topped by Haryana, who has two wins under their belt, followed by Kerala.