Kanitkar shows support to Abhimanyu Easwaran, saying he “stays very motivated to challenge himself” at every stage.
Abhimanyu ‘knows what to do if opportunities don’t come’, says Kanitkar.
In July 2018, Abhimanyu Easwaran made his debut for India A. Despite being in five Test teams, including the one in England earlier this year, he has yet to receive the Test cap despite playing 30 first-class matches for India A throughout the years (KS Bharat is second with 21). For the two four-day matches against Australia A, he is back with India A. At 30, the grind must be becoming easier. However, India A coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar anticipates that Abhimanyu will “stay very motivated to challenge himself,” as always.
Kanitkar backs Easwaran
“Abhimanyu is an experienced player. He has captained Bengal and played a lot of cricket at the higher level. So there isn’t much need to say a lot to him because he knows how cricket is played,” Kanitkar said at a press conference ahead of the first four-day match in Lucknow.
“It was not a big challenge to talk to him because he is already prepared. He knows what to do if opportunities don’t come. One good thing is that he stays very motivated to challenge himself, push himself, perform well. And if he gets a chance at the higher level, do well there too. He is mentally very strong, prepared, and is also playing well.
“He is batting well. He is in good form and in good touch. He is a very, very good player who has done it [for India A] many times. So I think he is ready for the challenge now. He is in a good place right now in terms of batting and the way managing his cricket.”
Lucknow and Easwaran
The city of Lucknow will bring back happy memories for Abhimanyu. He has averaged 117.75 and scored a century in each of his three first-class appearances there, amassing 471 runs in five innings.
Abhimanyu opened the batting and scored 191 last year while representing Rest of India versus Mumbai in the Irani Cup in Lucknow. He struck an undefeated 127 in a Ranji Trophy match for Bengal against Uttar Pradesh ten days later at the same venue. After that, he was called up to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy team.
It is impossible that any Indian has spent this much time on the sidelines of Test cricket without being selected. However, now that India A is back in the starting lineup, Abhimanyu will be expected to play the same kind of composed, responsible, lengthy innings for which he has been known. He hopes that the Test matches against the West Indies at home next month are the ones he has been waiting for.