IND vs AUS: 'The way Abhimanyu and Akash Deep have been Ignored is baffling' - Bengal Coach Saurasish Lahiri | Exclusive

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India's Test credentials down under in Australia is on the balance as after three matches, both teams are locked in a 1-1 scoreline.

Rohit Sharma's hiatus to Ravichandran Ashwin's sudden retirement - the Border Gavaskar Trophy has already seen a lot of dramas and many more may unfold in the upcoming two matches.

KL Rahul, and Devdutt Padikkal - who were not part of India's first team plans while coming to Australia have played their matches. Bengal's Akash Deep was handed an opportunity finally after the first two matches and he has shown his potential with his bowling, and most importantly, with his willow which saved India's follow-on in Brisbane.

But one player who was supposed to get an opportunity still continues to be ignored on the sidelines, which is Abhimanyu Easwaran. The Bengal batting star was selected for the series after his prolific outing in the domestic circuit for the past couple of years. Although he had an underwhelming tour in Australia with India A, Easwaran was expected to play in the first match as Rohit was unavailable.

But many across the Bengal cricketing fraternity got shocked as Easwaran was ignored in the first match. Bengal legend and current U-19 head coach Saurasish Lahiri spoke in an exclusive chat with MyKhel, voicing his utter disbelief on how Abhimanyu has been treated so far in Australia.

"The way Abhi[Abhimanyu Easwaran] has been treated is very bad. Abhimanyu was the team's third opener. It is quite obvious that when your first two openers play, your third opener will automatically play the match. That's why they selected Abhimanyu Iswaran. And his selection was on the basis of his huge performance. If you are to give him 10 out of 10, the next best gets 6 out of 10 - That's how good he has been. When the Rohit situation arose, Abhi should have played. It's a simple theory. I was very disappointed. I spoke about this a lot. What else can a player do to get a test call? It is very, very unfortunate," Lahiri said to MyKhel.

Akash Deep treatment Condemnable: Saurasish Lahiri

He was also livid with how Akash Deep was left out of the team from the first two matches. Akash Deep came to Australia on the back of a decent outing in India but it was Harshit Rana who got his opportunity in the first two matches. And the Bengal coach took apart India's head coach Gautam Gambhir for his 'baffling' team selection.

"What Gautam Gambhir did with Akash Deep is very condemnable. A player who did so well in India, and in his first overseas tour, he gets dropped for someone who hasn't even completed a whole domestic season. It is so baffling for me to understand that. But that's how it is."

The Border Gavaskar Trophy is currently poised and it is to be seen if Easwaran gets an opportunity in the final two Test matches. Team India will undergo some radical changes in coming months, which may open the door for the Bengal star, who deserves the opportunity at the highest level.