BAN vs IND: Abhimanyu Easwaran to join Test squad amid Rohit Sharma's injury cloud

Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran is set to join the Indian Test squad after Rohit Sharma injured his thumb during the second ODI. BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Rohit has traveled to Mumbai for medical consultation and a final confirmation on his availability for the Tests is awaited. The two-match Test series in Bangladesh starts on December 14, which makes it highly improbable for Rohit to return for the first Test

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Easwaran notably captained the India-A side in Bangladesh A tour that had taken place parallel to the ODI series. The 27-year-old scored 141 and 157 in his last two innings and has continuously performed for his state side Bengal in the domestic circuit.

With 5576 runs in 78 first-class games at an average of 45.33, Easwaran has established credentials to earn an India cap. He has now been called up to join the squad by the selectors as per the reports from ESPNcricinfo.  

The 27-year-old has been on the fringes of the Indian Test side for a while and traveled with the squad to England. However, he could not find a place in the playing XI despite the regular openers suffering injuries as KL Rahul got the opportunity. Easwaran is expected to be the backup opener for the Tests with KL Rahul and Shubman Gill likely to open.

Besides Rohit Sharma's injury, Mohammad Shami and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to miss the Tests due to their respective injuries. Meanwhile, Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Kumar are expected to be roped in as replacements.

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BAN vs IND: Indian Test squad

Rohit Sharma (C)
KL Rahul (VC)
Shubman Gill
Cheteshwar Pujara
Virat Kohli
Shreyas Iyer
Rishabh Pant (wk)
KS Bharat (wk)
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravindra Jadeja
Axar Patel
Kuldeep Yadav
Shardul Thakur
Mohd. Shami
Mohd. Siraj
Umesh Yadav