India, Dec. 2 -- The case of Abhimanyu Easwaran is just too curious. A domestic cricket stalwart for Bengal has been piling on runs for fun in the Ranji Trophy, but is yet to get a look-in the Test playing XI for India. He has been part of the national squad on numerous occasions, but management, after management, sidelined him, picking someone else over him whenever a spot opened up. Easwaran has played 109 first-class matches so far, scoring 8136 runs at an average of 47.85.

Easwaran, 30, has never played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and is not a well-known name in the white-ball formats; hence, many people believe that this has worked against him, as the current trend sees team management picking white-ball players for the Test ...