Manoj Tiwary, the former India cricketer, has backed Abhimanyu Easwaran to take the place of KL Rahul in the Indian Test squad as a middle order batter despite being a designated opener in domestic cricket. The 38-year-old, who became a politician recently, questioned the spot of KL Rahul in the Indian Test lineup by pointing out the underwhelming stats of the right-handed batter in the longest format of the game despite playing a lot of matches in his 10-year career.
Notably, in the past few years, Abhimanyu Easwaran has been one of the standout batters in the domestic circuit, which led to him being picked in the Indian Test squad without ever making his debut. At the start of the ongoing 2024-25 domestic season, the right-handed batter scored back-to-back hundreds in Duleep Trophy, followed by a three-figure score in the Irani Cup, and then, in the opening round of the Ranji Trophy for Bengal, he got a century against Uttar Pradesh as well.
If you play 91 innings, and have an average of 33.98: Manoj Tiwary points out underwhelming stats of KL Rahul in Tests
With such incredible consistency from Abhimanyu Easwaran, it is quite hard for some sections of experts and fans to believe his non-inclusion in the Indian Test squad. Manoj Tiwary, who played for Bengal in domestic cricket, commented to Cricbuzz about KL Rahul’s spot in the Indian Test team with such impressive performers waiting in domestic cricket, and said, as per Crictracker, “If you play 91 innings, and have an average of 33.98… India have a lot of batters who are performing well consistently, even in domestic cricket, then why not (rethink KL Rahul’s spot)?”
He wanted Abhimanyu Easwaran to get a spot in the Indian Test team, just like how Sarfaraz Khan was accommodated in the recently concluded Test between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru. Tiwary remarked, ““If in a Test match, you can get a performance out of Sarfaraz by sending him at No. 4… I feel Abhimanyu Easwaran is a player, whom we have definitely given that ‘opener’ tag, and he is a specialist opener, but if you look at his numbers, there were hardly any innings in the last few matches he played where he did not score a century. So, bring him in, and try him as a middle order batter, given that he is in form. Why not?”
Despite his apprehension about KL Rahul being a part of the Indian Test team, Manoj Tiwary expects the selectors to stick with the experienced cricketer for the time being, and said, “But again, as much as I have understood, they (the selectors) will keep backing Rahul because he has the experience and is a technically sound batter. But then you also need performances, consistently, which should be checked in a 1:3 ratio. In this age of competition, if you can’t score a ton in three innings… there are a lot of players waiting in the wings, hoping for an opportunity and are banging on the selectors’ doors.”