On Tuesday, the 27-year-old was given a chance to set that right after being handed a recall to the Indian squad for the one-off Test against Bangladesh as the third opener behind Murali Vijay and KL Rahul. But it’s not like Abhinav hasn’t been quietly about his job without much fuss away from the spotlight.
There have been both peaks and troughs in his seasonal form in domestic cricket ever since he played his last Test at Trent Bridge in August 2011. But whenever he’s been among the runs, he’s made it count, finishing in the higher echelons of the batting charts.
But still, he’s continued to remain tucked underneath the radar.
That he hasn’t been a regular part of the IPL, and in fact missed that glitzy bus completely over the last couple of years hasn’t helped. Nor has the fact that he plays for a state team that despite being highly-billed rarely makes it to the marquee matches. As a result, it’s Abhinav’s year-end statistics rather than the actual runs that get the attention they deserve. His self-effacing personality and self-deprecating humour only add to his reputation as being a hard-working and consistent performer who’s never quite managed to score the ‘employee of the month’ prize.
