Cheteshwar Pujara’s potential replacement in the Indian Test team was identified as Abhimanyu Easwaran by then-coach Ravi Shastri and successor Rahul Dravid in 2021. Easwaran impressed during the India A tour of South Africa, where he was advised to bat at No. 3, the same position as Pujara, and showcased his abilities by scoring well in the unofficial Test matches.
However, despite his performances, Easwaran was not selected for the senior Test squad’s tour of South Africa. His father, Ranganathan Parameshwaran Easwaran, alleged that his son’s lack of an IPL profile played a role in this decision. The absence of recent successes in domestic cricket and the IPL hindered his chances of being selected for the national team.
Easwaran did receive a couple of call-ups as a standby player in 2021 but made his official inclusion in the Test squad in 2022 for the series against Bangladesh. He has since been a part of the Test set-up as a backup top-order batsman but is yet to make his international debut. Despite being identified as Pujara’s potential heir, Easwaran has faced challenges in breaking into the Indian Test team due to perceived biases related to IPL performances.
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