Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal smashed the doors of national selectors on the back of dominating performances in domestic tournaments, where he scored truckloads of runs season after season. His rich vein of form helped him grab the chance to show his batting class. The Karnataka stalwart was more than ready to seize the opportunity.

A double hundred against South Africa at home and hard-working fifties combatting Trent Boult and Tim Southee with the new ball in New Zealand helped him seal his spot as an opener in the Test team.

The former Delhi Capitals cricketer scored his first ton against South Africa in October 2019 and later he converted it into a double century. But in the last eight innings, Mayank has hit a rough patch in Tests, scoring only 88 runs with his highest score being only 38.

Agarwal broke into India’s squad for the U19 World Cup 2010, where he was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing campaign. He was India’s leading run-scorer in the tournament.

The Bangalore-born made his international debut in Test cricket and he played his first test against Australia on December 26th, 2018 in a much-anticipated Boxing-Day Test. He made an impressive 76 runs in his first test innings, facing the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Mitch Starc. This score was the highest by an Indian opener in that Test series.

He will need to adapt to the different challenges that T20s will present against him but a class player like him should be able to adapt and sustain the diversity of challenges. Punjab Kings (PBKS) (previously: KXIP) hopes hinged highly on Mayank’s form in the upcoming season and he, along with KL Rahul, form the Indian core of the team’s batting lineup.

Hitting pacers over the covers and long-off regions were the main highlights of Mayank’s batting in the IPL and now he needs to rediscover that form again to excel in the shortest format. In the latest edition of the IPL, Mayank was chosen to be the skipper of PBKS after KL Rahul was hospitalised due to serious stomach pain. He stepped onto the occasion and scored a valiant 99 not out on debut as IPL captain, but it all went in vain as PBKS lost the match.

His failure in Australia and Shubman Gill’s success meant Mayank was benched with Rohit Sharma replacing him as the opener. However, backing up his domestic form, Mayank is included in the 20-man team for the World Test Championship against New Zealand.

An attacking opening batsman obviously influenced by Virender Sehwag, Mayank got his Indian cap the hard way and earned his stripes in domestic cricket, worked his way up. And, once he hit that purple patch, he maximised it into fine form. For someone who has had trouble related to mental health in the past few years, he would be hoping to address those issues and take one step at a time and bounce back even stronger.

(As of June 2021)