Former Indian cricketers send warning to Gambhir, Gill against ignoring Easwaran: 'They shouldn't repeat the mistake'

Former Indian cricketers Mohammed Kaif and WV Raman have sent a warning to Team India management, including head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill, against ignoring Abhimanyu Easwaran for Sai Sudarshan in the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds, that starts on Friday (20 June). Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has also picked Abhimanyu Easwaran in his predicted playing XI of the Indian Team for the first Test against England, but he feels one out of Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sai Sudarshan will play.

Tamil Nadu’s Sai Sudharsan, 23, had a great Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, scoring 759 runs for Gujarat Titans and as per reports, leads the race to bat at No.3 while captain gill is set to bat at No.4. Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul are expected to open for India at Leeds.

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Former Indian cricketers, however, are backing domestic cricket veteran Abhimanyu Easwaran. The 29-year-old Bengal batter is yet to make his India debut, but he has 7,841 first-class runs in 103 matches. He also scored two fifties against England Lions recently, while Sudharsan didn’t play in those matches.

Former middle-order batter Kaif took to social media to send a warning to Gambhir, saying that Easwaran “deserves” to be included ahead of Sudharsan, as he is a domestic cricket star and has also performed well in matches against England Lions. Kaif also cited the example of Sarfaraz Khan to make his case.

“Abhimanyu Easwaran deserves to be in the playing XI before Sai Sudarshan. Easwaran’s 27 first-class hundreds, almost 8k FC runs need to be respected. By dropping Sarfaraz, someone who scored runs for India A in England, selectors made a mistake," Kaif said on X. “They shouldn’t repeat it by keeping Easwaran out of Leeds Test.”

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Abhimanyu Easwaran deserves to be in the playing XI before Sai Sudarshan. Easwaran's 27 first-class hundreds, almost 8k FC runs need to be respected. By dropping Sarfraz, someone who scored runs for India A in England, selectors made a mistake. They shouldn't repeat it by keeping…

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) June 19, 2025

Former Indian team opener WV Raman feels the team has a vacancy in the top-order and Easwaran is the right fit for it, given his experience.

“No, let’s not forget that Easwaran has been getting runs much higher than him over a long period of time. We have been having Easwaran as a part of the squad. We are not playing him. And that is again creating a lot of dilemma when the next selection comes up. We will have to try and reward him fully in the sense that there is no point picking him in the squad. We don’t have, let’s say, a player who has opened in the past, who is willing to open,” Raman told Times of India.

“There is a vacant slot at the top of the order. And here you have on the other hand, you have a player who has been opening right through his life, who has got runs every season almost. And then you pick him in the squad.”

Also Read | India Playing XI: Who will be included in Shubman Gill-led Indian team for Headingley Test?

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has also shared his views on X. He shared his predicted XI in which he slotted Sudharshan and Easwaran for the No.3 spot. Jaffer did not clarify who he wants to play but made a subtle case for Easwaran.

My India XI for First Test:

1. Jaiswal
2. KL
3. Easwaran/Sai
4. Gill
5. Pant
6. Nair
7. Jadeja
8. Shardul/Kuldeep
9. Prasiddh
10. Bumrah
11. Siraj

What's yours? #ENGvIND

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) June 18, 2025

He also feels India can include spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. However, reports of a green pitch suggest that Team India could go in with only pacers.