Inspired by Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, Bengal’s Abhimanyu Easwaran ready to make it big

Abhimanyu Easwaran has been fighting it out in the Indian domestic circuit for the last six years. Having notched over 4,000 runs at the first-class level at an average touching almost 50, he hasn’t let opportunities go. The knocks earned him a place in the India ‘A’ team, which means that he’s in the selectors’ scheme of things as far as selection in the national squad is concerned.

Earlier this year, the Bengal batter scored 183 and helped Bengal chase down 322 against Delhi. Lately, the 24-year-old played for the India Red in the Duleep Trophy and got 153 in the final versus India Green. His next assignment is the unofficial two-match Test series against South Africa ‘A’.

In those years, he has had the chance of rubbing shoulders with the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, two of India’s greatest cricketers. He credited Ganguly, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), for motivating him and was privileged to have his constant guidance.

“He [Ganguly] has been a great influence in my life and he is done so well at the international level and we’ve seen him as an idol. I’ve seen him play and win games for India and it is a big motivation and till now also he keeps motivating us to get better with every tournament we feature. So, to have a person him around us, it is great…you get to learn a lot from him,” Easwaran told India TV.

I’ve learnt a lot from Rahul Dravid, says Easwaran

Coming to Dravid, he has been Easwaran’s idol as well. Abhimanyu was impressed by the way Dravid used to play the strokes along the ground, devoid of any risk. He also expressed delight in plying his trade under Dravid’s tutelage and said to have learnt a lot from the veteran.

“I’ve always idolised Rahul Dravid sir and loved the way he played the game and batted all along the ground. So, I love that but I won’t’ resemble myself to any cricketer. To be able to play under him [Dravid]…I’m pretty lucky that way. He has played internationally for a long time. I’ve learnt a lot from him by sharing the dressing room and talking to him about his experiences and being a player at that level,” he added.

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