Who is Abhimanyu Easwaran? Ruturaj Gaikwad's replacement for South Africa Tests

India suffered a massive blow as Ruturaj Gaikwad, who received a maiden Test call-up for the two-match series against South Africa, was ruled out with a finger injury. He has been replaced by Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran.

Easwaran has been with the India 'A' squad for a long time and has also served as the leader of the team. He plays domestic cricket for Bengal and he led them to the Ranji Trophy finals in the 2019-2020 season. The right-handed batter has traveled with the Indian team in the past as a reserve player on a number of occasions but is yet to make his debut.

The 28-year-old has played 88 first-class games so far in his career. He has amassed 6,567 runs at an average of 47.24 and has 22 hundreds and 26 half-centuries to his name. Easwaran also has a stadium named after him in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, which is owned by his father.

Ruturaj suffered an injury on his right ring finger during the second ODI of the three-match series against South Africa at St George's Park, Gqeberha. He was subsequently ruled out of the third ODI in Paarl on Thursday, December 21. On Saturday, December 23, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that Easwaran, who is already with the Test squad, will join as his replacement. He played a solid knock of 61 on the second day of a practice game between Indian players currently in South Africa.

The India A team is also in the Rainbow Nation to play two unofficial Tests against South Africa A. The first encounter ended in a draw in Potchefstroom. Easwaran was a part of the side but he missed the match due to fitness issues. He is set to lead India A in the second unofficial Test that begins on Tuesday, December 26 in Benoni. However, this game coincides with the India versus South Africa clash in Centurion.