IND v NZ 2021: Mayank Agarwal excited to work with Rahul Dravid again; says he trusts his skills and game

Mayank Agarwal in race to open for India in Test series against New Zealand.

India and Karnataka opener Mayank Agarwal is excited to be part of the Indian team for the upcoming two-Test series against New Zealand beginning from November 25 in Kanpur. Agarwal will be looking to perform and cement his place in the XI.

He had an excellent debut against Australia in the 2018-19 series making 76 in his first Test outing at the MCG. He followed it up with double-centuries against Bangladesh and South Africa at home. But lost his place in the India Test XI after the first two Tests against Australia in the 2020-21 series.

He was all set to play in the first Test against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, but suffered a concussion after being hit on the helmet by a Mohammed Siraj bouncer in the nets and was ruled out.

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His statemate KL Rahul took his place and sealed his spot with a series of impressive performances including a century at Lord’s.

Mayank will fancy his chances as an opener as Rohit Sharma has decided to skip the two Tests against New Zealand to rest ahead of the South Africa tour.

This home series against New Zealand will see the start of the reign of Rahul Dravid as the new India head coach and Mayank said that he was excited to be playing under his guidance once again after his India A days.

Mayank in an interview with Times of India said: “Yes I’m really excited to be working with him again. We’ve had a fantastic experience working with him at India A, and now I’m looking forward to the same with the Indian team. His advice has always been something that stayed with me — he always spoke about managing mental energy."

He said: “You just have to understand yourself better, understand your game, and manage your mental energy well. When you play a five-day game, you’re playing for long periods of time. You should know when to switch on, when to switch off. And that is something I learnt from him, and I have applied that in my game.”

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He was asked about the areas of his game he has worked upon and Mayank said: “You obviously evolve as a player and learn. You have your experiences, whether good or bad, and you learn from them. I’ve learnt from those experiences. It’s been an enjoyable journey for me.”

He praised KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma for their performances in the recent series against England.

Mayank said, “Of course! Rahul and I are very good friends. Him doing well is great news. That is the culture in the Indian team. Everyone is really happy for each other’s success. That’s the culture we’ve created and we are very proud of that.

The kind of performances Rohit has produced have put India in great positions. As an opening batsman, playing in English conditions, which can be tested early on, and setting a platform (for India), has been tremendous (on his part).”

(TOI inputs)