Rahul Dravid has been my idol ever since I started playing cricket, says Abhimanyu Easwaran
Newly appointed Kolkata captain Abhimanyu Easwaran has revealed that Rahul Dravid was his idol growing up and that the legendary Indian cricketer helped Easwaran to hone his mental skills. Easwaran further believes that an India call-up is not far away if he keeps piling on the runs in the future.
One of the great success stories in Indian domestic cricket over the past two seasons has been Abhimanyu Easwaran. The opener, who scored a match-winning 153 in the Duleep Trophy final last week has been a revelation for Bengal in domestic cricket, averaging almost 50 in both first-class and List A matches. Unsurprisingly, he was named as the new captain of Bengal and the 24-year-old is looking forward to shoulder the new responsibility that has been given to him.
"I want to take responsibility and do well. I will hopefully enjoy this responsibility and take the team forward. If my new role requires me to stay longer in Kolkata, I will do that," Easwaran told Sportstar.
With 13 first-class hundreds to his name, Easwaran has started to knock on the doors of the selectors slowly but steadily. Last season, the opener averaged a staggering 95.66 in Ranji Trophy, scoring three hundreds in the process. However, the Bengal captain is not getting too far ahead of himself. He believes that a call-up to the main team will automatically follow should he continue posting scores like he has been for the past 18 months, but admitted that his sole focus now will be to score those big runs.
"I am just trying to focus and do well in the matches I get to play. If I play for Bengal and do well in Ranji or perform in Duleep Trophy, that is good for me. Selection is not in my control, not in my hands. If I keep performing in every single game, I think selection will take care of itself," he said.
Like many a great Test batsman in the past, Easwaran relies on his technique, temperament and patience to succeed in the game's longest format. Unsurprisingly, the 24-year-old singled out Rahul Dravid as his idol growing up. The opener also revealed how Dravid help him to convert starts into big scores when he was going through a rough patch.
"Rahul Dravid has been my idol ever since I started playing cricket. There have been many lessons but the most important thing that I learnt is to try and stay in my present. I was having problems with my conversion rate and I had spoken to him.
"I needed to get a big score and there was too much on my mind. Rahul sir had told me not to think of scores and focus on what the team needed from me at that point of time, and he told me to just keep batting and that I will eventually get the big score. It helped me a lot mentally," he said.
Easwaran had a rough outing in the recently concluded India 'A' vs West Indies 'A' Tests in the Caribbean, where he managed to score just 120 runs across six innings. However, despite the bad returns, Easwaran believes that he learnt a lot playing on those hostile wickets with a dukes ball and said that he'll definitely be better prepared the next time around.
"It was a good experience playing with the Dukes ball in those conditions. I really enjoyed the challenge; understood a lot of things from those challenges. If I go again, I will be better prepared," he signed off.
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