"No point in carrying a cricketer tour after tour" - Former India opener's blunt take on Abhimanyu Easwaran ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

Former Indian batter WV Raman slammed the management for not playing the talented Abhimanyu Easwaran in a single Test despite his presence in the squad since the Australian tour last year. The 29-year-old watched all five Tests in Australia from the sidelines and has warmed the bench in the first three Tests of the ongoing England series.

Easwaran has been one of the brightest stars to shine in domestic cricket with outstanding numbers, averaging almost 49 in 103 games. Yet, despite Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring before the England series, the Indian think tank has looked towards Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan instead of the Bengal veteran.

Talking about Easwaran's continued exclusion from the Indian XI in an interview with Revsportz, Raman said:

"Even 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."

He added:

"The thing is that there comes a time where it becomes a little bit tricky for everybody concerned because the player himself doesn’t know how he is looked at. 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."

India are in a 1-2 hole in the ongoing England series, following a heartbreaking 22-run defeat in the third Test at Lord's.

"No point in playing a player for one Test and benching him" - WV Raman on Sai Sudharsan

WV Raman believes Team India would have been better off not including Sai Sudharsan for the opening Test, only to drop him in the following game. The 23-year-old debuted in Tests in the series opener at Leeds but failed to impress with 0 and 30 in the two innings.

India losing the match meant the left-hander was excluded for the second Test for the sake of team balance.

"I think the team management should have made him (Sudharsan) wait. There is no point in playing a player for one Test and benching him. The same person who played in the second and third Tests could have been chosen for the first," said WV Raman (via the aforementioned source).

With Karun Nair woefully short of runs, it will be interesting to watch if the Indian management replaces him with Easwaran or Sai in the fourth Test at Manchester, starting July 23.