Indian captain Rohit Sharma has been sidelined from the Test series opener against Bangladesh in Chittagong, starting Wednesday. The 35-year-old is not available for selection for the critical first Test after going down with an injured thumb as he remains under medical supervision for the second Test in Dhaka from December 22.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed the development prior to the two-match series after Rohit flew to Mumbai to attend a specialist to get his injured thumb checked. The player is in an unlikely race against time to be fit for the second Test, also part of the 2021-23 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
For the time being, India have brought in Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran as a replacement for their designated top-order batter. Easwaran gets a much-deserved first Test call-up to his name after piling on runs in domestic cricket and for India ‘A’. He was the highest run-getter in the just concluded series in Bangladesh, acting as a shadow trip for the Test series to be played by the senior team.
Making successive big hundreds, a disciplined right-hander Easwaran collected 299 runs from his two innings against a Bangladesh ‘A’ side featuring multiple Test representatives. He has been an integral part of India’s ‘A’ set-up, with an impressive overall first-class record to his name: he averages 45.33 after 134 innings in the red-ball game with 18 centuries and 23 fifties part of his tally of 5,576 runs.
In the Ranji Trophy earlier this year, Easwaran made 413 runs at the top of the order for Bengal over five matches, including a century and three half-centuries. An immediate opportunity to play Test cricket for India, however, is unlikely for the 27-year-old as KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are already part of the squad.
Unless one of them gets injured or India pave the way for Gill’s soon-expected entry into the middle order, Easwaran will have to wait for his Test cap beyond this trip. He is a strong inclusion to the set-up, though, as India look to beef up their top-order options after dropping the struggling Mayank Agarwal.
Rohit picked up his thumb injury during the second ODI in Dhaka last Wednesday while attempting a low catch in the slip cordon. During the second over of the game, pacer Mohammed Siraj got opening batter Anamul Haque nicking a ball to second slip, where Rohit went down on his legs but dropped the catch, receiving the ball instead on the side of his hand, the upper part of his left thumb.
The blow led to a bruise and excruciating pain for the Indian skipper, with which he left the field and was taken to a nearby hospital in Mirpur for immediate scans. He came back later during the Indian bowling effort and came out to bat when the Indian run-chase reached dire states. Rohit revived India’s hopes with a memorable 51 not out off 28 balls batting No.9 but couldn’t take the side through.
Apart from him, premier spin allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and experienced seamer Mohammad Shami are also ruled out of the first Test and the series in Bangladesh entirely. Jadeja continues to rehab from his knee injury, while Shami has been sidelined with a shoulder issue.
India have called in replacements for the duo in the form of Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar and handed comebacks to Navdeep Saini and Saurashtra veteran Jaydev Unadkat in the pace department. Rishabh Pant, who had been rested from the ODIs on medical advice, has joined the Test squad.
