Part of the Indian A team who will be playing their second four - day game against South Africa A, Karnataka batsman Mayank Agarwal spoke about his recent good form in England.
Mayank took 27 days exactly to score 1000 runs last season scoring 2,169 runs in 32 innings in the entire domestic season. So far for India A Mayank has scored 151 not out (against Leicester in England), 112 (against West Indies A), 112 (against England Lions) and 220 (against South Africa A).
In an exclusive chat with Sportstar, Mayank spoke about opening partner Prithvi Shaw and the improvement under Rahul Dravid’s mentorship.
When asked about his current form playing red ball cricket, Mayank said " To be really honest, it’s a better understanding of my game and more awareness of how I respond and react to situations. A good understanding of [my] game is helping me score runs. As a player, I can’t pick out one tournament. If it didn’t go well, it didn’t. If I do well in four tournaments out of five, it is fine. It is bound to happen. I am happy I have turned it around."
When asked about the lessons learnt in England so far Agarwal reiterated " Rahul bhai (Rahul Dravid) always says these tours are all about learning and handling different conditions. The ball moved around a bit. We played with the Dukes ball for the first time. I also learnt how to pace an innings."
Mayank Agarwal has forged a brilliant opening partnership with Prithvi Shaw batting together for India A so far. When asked about his partnership with Shaw he said "I think he is an extremely good player who has been getting runs. We form a great pair and we enjoy batting [with] each other. As we play more games, we will be able to understand each other better. It is important to be good friends as that helps a player complement the other one. If there is a flaw in any of us, we should be able to tell each other. We can always help each other out."
When asked about his chances of breaking through to the Indian senior team, Mayank said " That’s not something we were spoken about in the A side. We are happy to play the A games. These tournaments are all about bridging the gap between domestic and international cricket. It is about facing better standard of bowling compared to the domestic season. It is not only about selection".
He concluded by talking about the influence and aura of Rahul Dravid who has played a perennial role in building the future of Indian cricket. "He passes all his knowledge. If there is anything you want to chat about, he is an open person, all of us go to him. We talk about our game, and if there is something troubling our mindset. If he remains the coach for a long time, it will be helpful as we are developing a rapport. He will understand us, and our game better with time. All his talks are positive, that’s the best thing about him. He keeps emphasising on the good things that you are doing."
