Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik believes in-form Rajat Patidar could have been part of the Test squad against the West Indies. Karthik observed Patidar from close quarters while mentoring Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2025.
Patidar has been in red-hot form in first-class cricket, leading Central Zone to glory in the Duleep Trophy. The right-hander from Madhya Pradesh top-scored in the domestic tournament, scoring 382 runs in three games at an impressive average of 76.40.
Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz, “The one player I really wish could have been part of the team is Rajat Patidar. He has had a phenomenal time as a batter, be it IPL or for INDIA A. The only place where he has actually failed is in Test cricket against England at the start of last year. I feel bad for him. He actually had a bit of an injury and he couldn’t start the IPL as well. Even in the recent Duleep Trophy, he scored big and looked the part.”
“He’s done so much that if given an opportunity, he’ll fire. He’s so good. He’s extraordinarily talented, no doubt about it. If you are a selector, the only question you ask is, ‘ If I take him to Australia, England or South Africa, do I see him doing well?’ Because in home conditions, there is no way he’s not going to do well for you.”
On the other hand, Abhimanyu Easwaran was unlucky to miss out on the Test squad. Easwaran was part of the Australia and England tour but could not get his chance in the final XI. Surprisingly, he was overlooked by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel for WI Tests.
“Another big miss is Abhimanyu Easwaran. He has been hanging around the team but never got an opportunity. Always tough to explain but as a selector sometimes you have to take the call based on who you see as the next opener, who you want to invest in. I guess they’ve looked at Abhimanyu as someone who they’ll look at when they tour. But internally when you play at home, we have enough openers to work with in terms of, if required, Sai Sudharsan can go up and Devdutt can bat at 5,” said Karthik.
Easwaran has scored 7885 runs in 104 first-class matches at an impressive average of 48.67. The opening Test match between India and West Indies will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, from October 2 onwards.
