Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra feels Abhimanyu Easwaran still has a bright chance of playing in the opening Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar series. Easwaran returned with scores of 0 and 17 in the second unofficial Test against Australia A, which the hosts won by six wickets.
The right-hander was added to India’s Test squad after his consistent performances in the domestic circuit.
In the opening Test against Australia A, Easwaran was dismissed after scoring 7 and 12. However, despite his low returns in Australia so far, the 29-year-old could make his Test debut in the absence of Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who is reported to miss the opening game due to personal reasons.
“They got out once again. It was 0, 4, 0, 4 in the first innings. Here also, whether it’s Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sai Sudharsan, KL Rahul or Ruturaj Gaikwad, no one is scoring runs. India A are not playing well. It comes to your mind that you are preparing for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“For that, you sent your players early to practice and score runs. If they score runs, you could make up your minds to play them. Abhimanyu Easwaran still has bright chances of playing, although he doesn’t have any returns in these unofficial Test matches. Based on that, you feel he is probably not ready,” Chopra added.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul was dismissed bizarrely by off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli in the second innings after scoring only 10 runs. The ball went between Rahul’s legs when he offered no shot.
“Since Rohit might not be available for the first match, you thought you would get KL Rahul to open. So you sent KL Rahul. As soon as he arrived, he was asked to play. He got out in the first innings – okay. The way he got out in the second innings, you see that and say what is this new way he found to get out,” he said.
The former Delhi player feels Rahul is lacking confidence at the top level and it is palpable in the way he is batting.
“The pitch had gotten better in the second innings. I concede there was help from the pitch in the first innings. The ball was moving and you lost wickets quickly. A spinner bowled to KL Rahul and don’t know how the ball went between the legs and hit his stumps. You say his confidence is also at rock bottom,” Chopra observed.
The opening Test match between India and Australia will be played at Perth from November 22 onwards.
