Half-centurion Abhimanyu Easwaran helps Bengal floor Services in SMAT: Stats
04 Dec 2025

Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easwaran sent another strong message to Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises with a strong show in Round 5 of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025.

Easwaran played a superb knock of 58 as his side chased down a 166-run target set by Services at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.

This was Easwaran's 2nd successive fifty-plus score in SMAT 2025.

A solid half-century while chasing
Fact

Bengal lost Karan Lal (0) early on with the score being 14/1. Having joined Abishek Porel in the middle, Easwaran was part of a 93-run stand for the 2nd wicket. After Porel departed, Easwaran added 34 runs with Yuvraj Keswani before being dismissed.

Easwaran's performance in SMAT 2025
SMAT

Easwaran started his SMAT 2025 journey with 16 runs versus Baroda.

Against Gujarat next, he scored a valuable 34-run knock.

Next up, he hit an unbeaten 130 against Punjab. However, the knock went in vain as Bengal fell short.

In the previous clash against Himachal Pradesh, Easwaran scored 5.

And now against Services, he hit 58 runs.

6th T20 fifty for Easwaran
Fact

This was Easwaran's 39th T20 match. Notably, all of his career T20 matches have come in SMAT. From 38 innings, the senior Bengal star has amassed 1,219 runs at 40.63. He has two tons and 6 fifties. His strike rate is 132.64.

Can Easwaran live the IPL dream?
IPL

Easwaran's 2nd score of 50-plus in SMAT 2025 comes amid speculation that his absence from an IPL team has kept him out of the Team India camp.

The Bengal skipper's performance against Punjab and now Services has sent a clear message to IPL franchises ahead of the upcoming mini-auction.

Teams looking to bolster their top order could opt for Easwaran's experience.

Ashwin takes a dig at selectors with Easwaran's Test snub
Ashwin

Former Indian spinner R Ashwin took a dig at selectors and Indian team management for leaving out Easwaran from the Test side.

After Easwaran's century versus Punjab, Ashwin spoke on Ash ki Baat with senior journalist Vimal Kumar on YouTube, sarcastically urging the selectors to consider Easwaran for Tests because he has shown promise in T20 cricket.

Ashwin feels India will see Easwaran play Tests: Here's why
Words

"I'm excited about another person. The Test incumbent player who has always been spoken about, Abhimanyu Easwaran," Ashwin said.

"Abhimanyu Easwaran scored a hundred in T20 also now. Now we can get to see him for sure now. Given that he has now scored runs in T20, for sure we will get to see him in the Test team now," he added.