Yashasvi Jaiswal is currently playing the first Test of his career for the Indian cricket team. The left-handed batter received a place in the standby players list for ICC World Test Championship Final 2023 against Australia because of Ruturaj Gaikwad’s wedding. Soon after, the BCCI promoted him to the main squad for the ICC World Test Championship series against the West Indies cricket team.
Thanks to his impressive performances in domestic tournaments as well as the Indian Premier League, Yashasvi Jaiswal earned his maiden Test cap after being called up immediately. Jaiswal has also completed his half-century against the West Indies cricket team in the first innings at the Windsor Park in Dominica.
While Jaiswal’s rise to the Indian team has been very quick, here’s a list of two such Indian openers who worked hard in domestic cricket, earned a call-up to the Test squad before him but got dropped from the squad without debut.
1. Priyank Panchal was selected before Yashasvi Jaiswal
Gujarat’s top-order batter Priyank Panchal has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket. He played a pivotal role in the rise of the Gujarat team in domestic cricket. Courtesy of his consistency in Ranji Trophy, Panchal got selected in India ‘A’ squad.
He also earned a call-up to the Indian squad for the ICC World Test Championship series against England in 2021. However, he warmed the benches in that series. Two years have passed, and Panchal is yet to make his debut.
2. Abhimanyu Easwaran
Bengal’s Abhimanyu Easwaran has had a similar story like Priyank Panchal. He has been in and out of the squad and list of reserves but never got his debut cap. Both Panchal and Easwaran have done well in red-ball cricket. It will be interesting to see if they get selected in the Indian squad in the near future.
