Abhimanyu Easwaran
Bengal batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran emerged as one of the four standby players as the BCCI on Friday named India's squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and the five-match Test series against England.
Easwaran, 25, was joined by Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, and Arzan Nagwaswalla as the Indian contingent picked a 24-strong strong for the four-month long tour.
On earning a ticket to the UK, Easwaran said that he aims to make the most in England if he gets an opportunity. The right-hander was also among the reserves during the recent home Test series against England.
“We had only heard about it. We got to know how Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Cheteshwar Pujara practice. They are very specific. They just do what they would be doing in the match. And when you actually see them do the same thing the next day, it feels great,” Easwaran told Sportstar.
"If I can improve as a player in that tour, that will be good. And if I get an opportunity, I will make the most of it," he added.
India will first play New Zealand in the WTC final in Southampton on June 18, and next lock horns with hosts England in a five-Test series. The Test rubber will start at Nottingham (Aug 4-8) and will be followed by matches at Lord's (August 12-16), Leeds (Aug 25-29), Oval (Sep 2-6), and Manchester (Sep 10-14).
Pacer Avesh, who had a breakthrough season with Dehli Capitals in the now-suspended IPL 2021, also expressed his excitement to join the Indian camp. The Indore pacer ended with 14 wickets in eight games, poised second in the list of leading wicket-takers before the tournament was shelved indefinitely.
“It feels good to make the Indian team. I worked on my length balls and slowers before the IPL. That helped gain confidence.
“I was mentally prepared to play to the situation because Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje were not supposed to be around initially and that time, Ishant Sharma had an injury too. I had a feeling I could get a chance,” said Avesh.
