"Really unfortunate" - Aakash Chopra on Team India batter being dropped for IND vs WI 2025 Tests

Former India player Aakash Chopra has termed Abhimanyu Easwaran's non-selection in the Indian squad for the upcoming Test series against the West Indies unfortunate. He reckoned that Sai Sudharsan potentially pipped the Bengal batter to the spot.

India will face the West Indies in a two-match Test series, with the first game scheduled to start in Ahmedabad on October 2. The selectors picked a 15-member Indian squad for the two Tests on Thursday, September 25, with Easwaran being among the players left out.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that he is slightly hurt due to Easwaran's omission, opining that Sudharsan might have been preferred because of the glimpses of the potential he showed in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

"Abhimanyu Easwaran's absence pains me a little because you have kept him with the team many times, taken him around, but have not played a match. You are not making him play at all. Now he is not part of the team. There was no place for him in the playing XI," Chopra said (3:45).

"I think there would have been a toss-up in the mind between Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran. I think Sai Sudharsan has given enough glimpses for you to persist with him, and this will be the series where he will have to leave his imprint and seal the deal. So Abhimanyu Easwaran misses out, which is really unfortunate," he added.

Abhimanyu Easwaran is yet to make his Test debut. Sai Sudharsan scored 140 runs at an average of 23.33 in the three Tests he played against England earlier this year.

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"He didn't do enough for you to say he cannot be dropped" - Aakash Chopra on Karun Nair being left out for IND vs WI 2025 Tests

Karun Nair scored 205 runs at an average of 25.63 in the four Tests he played in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Karun Nair has been left out of the Indian squad for the Test series against the West Indies as he didn't make himself undroppable with his performances in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

"Karun Nair asked cricket for a second chance. Cricket gave him a second chance. We were repeatedly saying in the England series whether he would play the next match. He was doing enough for you to feel that he can do it, but he didn't do enough for you to say he cannot be dropped," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Devdutt Padikkal has been preferred as he is a youngster and missed the England tour due to an injury.

"He became relevant, but he didn't become undroppable. He wasn't indispensable. The selectors decided that they are done as they expected a bit more, and if they have to go to someone else, they would go towards youngsters, in which Devdutt Padikkal's name is there. Devdutt Padikkal missed out on the previous tour completely because he was injured," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra opined that Karun Nair might not get an opportunity soon, adding that he won't be surprised if the middle-order batter doesn't get a chance again. He reasoned that the selectors tend to prefer youngsters and that the batters selected in the squad are likely to cement their places as the next two series are in India, followed by one in Sri Lanka.