Abhimanyu Easwaran failed to auditions for Rohit Sharma to replace India.

Abhimanyu Easwaran has squandered the first of four opportunities he’ll get to replace Rohit Sharma as India’s designated Test opener. The 29-year-old was named India A captain by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and was named in India’s squad for England as well, after years of exceptional performance in domestic cricket and A tours.

With Rohit Sharma retiring earlier this month, it made sense to add someone as experienced as him to the squad. Easwaran travelled to Australia, the last tour, as part of the A and main side as well. With Virat Kohli also out of the equation, the BCCI wanted more experience. Since Easwaran has experience playing in South Africa, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, he checks that box.

Easwaran misses a golden opportunity

But the right-handed batter hasn’t shown up as expected. Facing England Lions’ Josh Hull didn’t go that well for Easwaran. After being put into bat first, the India A captain scored just 8 runs.

To begin with, he showcased his compact defence and left balls outside off. He played Hull’s opening two overs on his own. The left-arm pacer wasn’t bowling too well. He was often missing his line. But Easwaran didn’t take any chances. In the 6th over, Hull’s third, he finally went after the pacer. He showcased his backfoot game, cutting him for two boundaries.

But Hull quickly course corrected. He pitched the ball up and at the stumps. Easwaran was too late to react and was pinned down. The umpire wasted no time and lifted his finger. The first opportunity to show the management that he can replace Rohit and be Yashasvi Jaiswal‘s partner in Headingley has been wasted by Easwaran.