Former Indian Test opener Wasim Jaffer has questioned Abhimanyu Easwaran’s absence from the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Easwaran has all the experience under his belt but he was ignored by the selectors.

The right-handed batter has scored 8381 runs at an average of 47.61 in 113 first-class matches. Easwaran was earlier included in India’s Test squad for the Australia tour but didn’t get his chance in the playing XI.

The veteran Bengal cricketer, who is yet to make his India debut, has been named in East Zone’s Duleep Trophy squad.

Wasim Jaffer said on his YouTube Channel, “The same goes for Abhimanyu Easwaran. He was on the England tour and the Australia tour. Maybe the selectors feel he isn’t suited to international cricket. If that’s their perception, it’s unfortunate. Even then, he deserves an opportunity. If someone has scored more than 8,000 first-class runs, he obviously has quality.”

Jaffer also questioned Mohammed Shami’s continuous absence from the India squad despite decent performance in the domestic circuit.

“Someone who has scored over 8,000 first-class runs hasn’t even got the opportunity to play a single Test match. Mohammed Shami is another name that comes to mind.”

The former domestic giant added that 30-year-old Easwaran deserves his opportunity for India after scoring a truckload of runs in the domestic competitions.

“He has scored consistently in first-class cricket, performed in India, and also scored runs against international-quality bowlers. So give him a few opportunities. Let him bat in two or four innings. If he fails after that, then that’s absolutely fair. Even he will accept that he got his chance but couldn’t make the most of it. But dropping someone without ever giving him an opportunity is, in my opinion, very unfair.”

Easwaran will be in action in the upcoming Duleep Trophy.