BAN vs IND: Abhimanyu Easwaran to join Test squad amid Rohit Sharma's injury cloud

Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran is set to join the Indian Test squad after Rohit Sharma injured his thumb during the second ODI. BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Rohit has travelled to Mumbai for medical consultation and a final confirmation on his availability for the Tests is awaited. The two-match Test series in Bangladesh starts on 14th of December, which makes it highly improbable for Rohit to return for the first Test.  

Easwaran notably captained the India-A side in the Bangladesh A tour that had taken place in parallel to the ODI series. The 27-year-old had scores of 141 and 157 in his last two innings and he has continuously performed for his state side Bengal in the domestic circuit. With 5576 runs in 78 first class games at an average of 45.33, Easwaran has established credentials to earn an India cap. He has now been called up to join the squad by the selectors as per the reports from ESPNcricinfo.  

The 27-year-old has been on the fringes of the Indian Test side for a while and travelled with the squad to England. However, he could not find a place in the playing XI despite the regular openers suffering injuries as KL Rahul got the opportunity. However, on his current form, Easwaran is expected to be the backup opener for the Tests with KL Rahul and Shubman Gill likely to open.  

Apart from Rohit Sharma's injury, Mohammad Shami and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to miss the Tests due to their respective injuries with Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Kumar expected to be roped in as replacements.

India’s Test squad for Bangladesh Tests: 

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav.