I needed a second number a few months ago. My phone has a physical SIM and an eSIM slot. I looked at eSIM.
This is from India, there was no clear information on switching phones and all. Since many cheap phones (the type I use) still don't have eSIM slots, I might need move back to physical SIM later. There was no information about that either.
And lastly, regulations suck here. Every change of SIM type is treated as a new connection which comes with a 24-hour embargo on everything except incoming calls.
I just bought a cheap second phone.