Abhimanyu Easwaran groomed as Cheteshwar Pujara’s successor! Father slams Gautam Gambhir, BCCI over IPL bias

Abhimanyu Easwaran’s father slammed Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir over the exclusion of his son during the Andron-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. Ranganathan Parameshwaran also stated that Rahul Dravid and Ravi Shastri had groomed his son as Cheteshwar Pujara’s long-term replacement in Tests.

Cheteshwar Pujara made his Test debut in 2010 against Australia. He has scored 7,195 runs in 103 Tests at an average of 43.60, including 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries, with a best score of 206 not out. The batter last played in the format in the 2023 World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval.

Abhimanyu Easwaran Was Asked to Play One Down - Ranganathan Parameshwaran

Speaking to Vickey Lalwani on his YouTube channel, Abhimanyu Easwaran’s father said that his son was groomed as Cheteshwar Pujara’s successor during a South Africa A tour. Abhimanyu batted at No. 3 and impressed with a century against a quality bowling attack, including Marco Jansen.

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"Abhimanyu was picked up for the India A side. He went to South Africa. With the advice of the Indian coaches at the time, Abhimanyu was asked to play one down, as Cheteshwar Pujara was leaving cricket. So he played at No. 3 and scored 103 against Marco Jansen and five other quality bowlers," the senior Easwaran said.

Easwaran scored 103 in the first unofficial Test while batting at No. 3 and followed it up with a 55 in the second innings of the match.

The Absence of an IPL Record in My Son's Profile... - Ranganathan Parameshwaran

However, Abhimanyu Easwaran was not included in the senior Test squad for the South Africa tour. His father believes this was due to the lack of recent domestic matches to showcase his form and the absence of an IPL presence.

"By the time he came back from South Africa, Bengal lost in the quarterfinals to Karnataka. Karnataka played a pre-quarterfinal against Saurashtra. Bengal were out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy by then."

"So the talent scouts had nothing recent to show on paper. And this perception—along with the absence of an IPL record in my son's profile—is what I feel became a basic impediment to his India selection," he added.

Abhimanyu Easwaran Has Been With the Indian Test Setup Since 2021

Abhimanyu Easwaran has been with the Indian Test setup since 2021. He was picked as a standby for the home series against England and the World Test Championship final 2021 against New Zealand. The batter received his maiden call-up during the Bangladesh tour in 2022.

After that, India have handed Test caps to at least 15 players, including Anshul Kamboj, during the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford. Easwaran did not get a chance despite multiple changes in the batting order, including the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

The 29-year-old was also part of the squad for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, where India lost 3-1. He has scored 7,841 runs in 103 first-class matches at an average of 48.70, including 27 hundreds and 31 fifties.

The opener played a key role in Bengal’s Ranji Trophy campaigns, helping them reach the finals in both 2020 and 2023, but they lost to Saurashtra on both occasions.

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