The fifth and final Test between India vs England is currently underway at the Oval, and one name is yet again missing from the playing XI - Abhimanyu Easwaran. The Bengal batter's wait to get the elusive India cap has now extended beyond 961 days. Since his maiden call-up, 15 players have made their debuts, which include names of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KS Bharat, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Rajat Patidar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Sai Sudarshan, and Anshul Kamboj.
What makes it even worse is that even two captains have led the Test format since Easwaran's maiden call-up - Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. When the Bengal batter was first added to the squad, Rahul Dravid was the head coach, and now Gautam Gambhir is at the helm.
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Abhimanyu Ewaswarn was also part of India's last Test series Down Under, and now, against England, with five matches gone, he has failed to get the nod.
Sai Sudarshan is preferred as Easwaran's wait continues
When Easwaran was first drafted to the Test squad, Shibman Gill was yet to establish himself in the red-ball format. Now, in 2025, the Punjab player is leading the side and has scored over 2700 Test runs. However, the domestic veteran is yet to make his Test debut, and at the age of 31 years, the time is running out of his hand. Sai Sudarshan, who is aged 23 years, has preferred to play in the ongoing series, playing three Tests so far.
While the southpaw has not set the series ablaze with his performances, his gritty 50 in Manchester Test was lauded by all as he showed character and grit to fight it. However, in between that fifty, the Gujarat Titans (GT) player also recorded two ducks. While there were talks going on that Easwaran might make his much-awaited debut, the wait continues as management has preferred a youngster instead of him.
