'Gambhir Spoke To My Son, Assured Him You'll Get Turn' : Ignored Indian Crickter's Father Accuses Head Coach Of False Promises

Credits - Twitter

Ranganathan Easwaran, the father of cricketer Abhimanyu Easwaran, recently revealed that India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has assured his son of receiving opportunities in the playing XI soon. Despite being part of the squad since 2022, Abhimanyu did not get a chance to play a single Test in the recently concluded five-match Test series against England. The batting position at number three was given to Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan, both of whom managed only one half-century collectively in ten innings.

In an interview with Vickey Lalwani on YouTube, Ranganathan shared the conversation between Gautam Gambhir and his son, stating, "Gautam Gambhir, when he spoke to my son, he assured him see you you're doing the right kind of things you'll get your turn you'll get a long run. I'm not the one who will push you out after one or two matches. I'll give you a long rope. That's what my son communicated to me. The entire coaching team assured him that he'll get his due, he'll get his long run. That's the best I can say. My son is waiting for 4 years, He's put in 23 years of hard work."

Ranganathan also expressed that Abhimanyu should have been given the chance to bat at number three instead of Sai Sudharsan, especially considering Abhimanyu’s experience on green wickets. He said, “He should have played one down. No ill feelings for Sai Sudharsan. Please understand he’s known to me, all of them are known to me. But the question is which place, means it's one down. Where does he fit in? You tell me 0, 31, 0, 61. They could have tried Abhimanyu, who has played about 30% of the matches on Eden Garden, which is a green track. He’s got experience on playing on green wicket. And the record suggest Abhimanyu is the player who holds on the innings for a long time.”

Furthermore, Ranganathan criticized the team management for being unfair with Abhimanyu, pointing out that Karun Nair, who has never played at number three before, was given the opportunity there while Abhimanyu was denied flexibility. He said, “Karu Nair never played 1 down. He's always played 2 down or 3 down for Vidarbha. How does he come into contention of 1 down? Suddenly you'll find players who are playing 4 and 5 number, they become top order batsmen. But my son is a top order batsman. He can't even move to 3 or 4. He can play only opener.”

Still No Cap

Abhimanyu Easwaran earned his maiden Test selection for India in December 2022 during the Bangladesh tour but has yet to make his debut, despite being part of the team for over two and a half years. In comparison, 15 other players have debuted for India in the same period. In his last domestic season, Abhimanyu was in excellent form, scoring heavily in the Duleep, Irani, and Ranji Trophy tournaments. Over his first-class career so far, the Bengal batsman has amassed 7,841 runs in 103 matches at an average of 48.70, including 27 centuries and 31 fifties.

With India set to host Test series against West Indies and South Africa, Abhimanyu will be keen to finally make his debut and secure the opportunity he has long awaited.