Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari on Wednesday (August 22) received their maiden call-up to the senior India squad for the final two Tests against England. Both have been among the runs for India ‘A’ in the last two months, each scoring tons against South Africa A recently. Considering their consistent showing in first-class cricket, the MSK Prasad led selection committee took a huge step forward.
Besides Vihari and Shaw, Karnataka's Mayank Agarwal was another bright star in the domestic circuit. Despite scoring heavily in last year’s Ranji Trophy (1160 runs at an average of 105.45), Agarwal has been overlooked for selection in the senior India team once again.
However, Mayank is not too concerned about his non-selection as he is happy with his progress as a batsman.
"I think I am very happy with the progress. I am very happy with the way I am batting. I am in a great mind space and I want to continue batting and scoring runs," Agarwal told Firstpost.
"Scoring 2000 runs in a domestic season is not a joke. I am very, very happy with the way I am batting. Yes, I did not have a good IPL. I have to look at my performances as a whole season and not just one tournament. I cannot say that I need to do well only in this tournament. I understand that I have not done well in IPL but if I have to look at whole year, I think I am batting extremely well," he added.
During India A's recent tour to England, Agarwal slammed two centuries in the one-day series but failed to replicate the same in the unofficial Tests against England Lions and West Indies 'A'.
"I think it was a fantastic tournament, we got to learn a lot. It was a great experience to play in England for the first time. It was great to play for the first time against the Dukes balls in English conditions. It gave us great exposure," Agarwal remarked.
"The challenge as a batsman was that you were never set. There is a lot of wind and the ball keeps moving almost all day long. And in a match, it is very important that when you are set, you take your team through. It is crucial because it is not easy for a new batsman going in to start hitting the ball from the word go. Facing the Dukes ball was a nice experience and a great challenge," he explained.
Agarwal also came out in support of his Karnataka teammate KL Rahul, who has aggregated 94 runs at an average of 15.66 in the ongoing Test series against England.
"To be really honest, I am not too concerned about his batting as he has been batting well. I wish the best for him. I know KL is a fighter and a big score is just round the corner for him. The way he is batting and the mindset that he is in is great. He is adding a lot of value to the Indian team as a fielder as well," Mayank Agarwal concluded.
