Reports: Abhimanyu Easwaran likely to replace Rohit Sharma in India's squad for Bangladesh Test series

In the second ODI against Bangladesh, Indian captain Rohit Sharma suffered a blow to his left thumb which ruled him out from the third ODI of the series. As per reports, the 35-year-old might even miss the Test which is scheduled to begin on December 14 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram. 

The head coach of the side, Rahul Dravid couldn’t provide an update on the availability of Sharma but shared that the Mumbai-born cricketer will be travelling back to India to consult medical experts. As things stand, Abhimanyu Easwaran will be replacing Sharma while KL Rahul who is the designated vice-captain might lead the side.

Easwaran’s promotion has come after a tremendous season with the bat for Bengal and India A. The opener hit a marvellous ton against Bangladesh A in the first unofficial Test and got better in the second Test with 157 from 248 deliveries. Despite that, with the availability of Shubman Gill, the 27-year-old might not get a chance to make his debut for India in the longest format of the game.

Other possible replacements in the Test squad

Injuries have lately become a massive concern for the Indian team. Jasprit Bumrah, India’s leader in the pace department has already been ruled out of the series and recently, Mohammed Shami suffered a shoulder injury, which will keep him out for quite some time.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja too hasn’t recovered on time and thus, India are slightly on a backfoot leading up to the Test series. Now, as per reports, 29-year-old Saurabh Kumar is very likely to replace Jadeja in the red-ball series. Representing India A, Kumar wreaked havoc by picking nine wickets in the match. Meanwhile, either Mukesh Kumar or Umran Malik is set to replace Mohammed Shami in the squad. 

Umran, who had a tremendous season in the Indian Premier League, made his T20I and ODI debut in 2022 but is yet to earn his maiden call-up in the longest format of the game. Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar has been sensational with the red ball in the Indian domestic circuit. Even with India A, the Bihar-born pacer notched six wickets to dismantle Bangladesh A’s batting line-up in the second unofficial Test. 

Abhimanyu Easwaran set to be called as skipper Rohit Sharma's cover in Chattogram.
Other inclusions could be Mukesh Kumar/Umran Malik in place of Shami. Saurabh Kumar for Ravi Jadeja#INDvsBAN #IndianCricketTeam

— Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) December 8, 2022