Indian batter Mayank Agarwal on Tuesday (15th March) recalled Virat Kohli’s warm gesture in his debut Test series. He said that the former Indian skipper gave him the trophy and told him to lift it.
Kohli tasted huge success during his 7-year stint as the Indian Test captain. The 33-year-old led India to 40 wins from 68 matches at a win percentage of 58.92%, which makes him the most successful Indian skipper.
Under his leadership, India won the Test series in Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka and are leading the Test series 2-1 in England, with the final Test to be played later this year.
Read Also: Hanuma Vihari, Abhimanyu Easwaran amongst seven Indians to participate in Dhaka Premier League 2022
Kohli, who never lost a Test series at home as skipper, left a tremendous legacy behind as under him Team India finished at the top of the Test rankings for five years in a row.
Under him, many players made their debut and one such name was Mayank Agarwal. The right-hander played his first Test against Australia in 2018 and since then he has become a vital player for India in the longest format of the game.
Agarwal scored 76 runs in his debut match and went on to score 195 runs at a staggering average of 65.00 in the three innings he played in that series.
In an interaction with veteran journalist Boria Majumdar on the show Backstage with Boria, Mayank Agarwal recalled his Test debut and termed the memories ‘fantastic’.
"Fantastic memories. I can definitely say it was a sleepless night before. Thinking about what's going to happen, what's not going to happen. I think as a player that is the most special feeling. As a player you're contributing and the team is winning, so there is no better or bigger feeling as a sportsman," Mayank Agarwal said.
Agarwal recalled Virat Kohli’s word after winning the series in Australia. He said that the former Indian skipper handed him the trophy and told him to lift it, which was a special feeling for him.
"I was very lucky that Virat, after receiving the trophy he gave it to me. As tradition goes, he said 'here it's for you, you've made a debut, you're going to stand there and lift the trophy'. That memory, the feeling are truly special,” he said.
Mayank Agarwal further talked about his performances. He said that although he has done well at home, he wants to score more runs abroad and put winning performances for his team.
"I would say post debut series, I had a great run in the home season, something I'm very happy about. I pat myself for the kind of performance at home but with that said I've to be honest with me as a cricketer definitely getting more runs abroad, getting centuries abroad, more match-winning performances abroad would actually make me feel a lot better,” he said.
So far, Mayank Agarwal has played 21 Tests. In those matches, he has accumulated 1488 runs at an average of 41.33 to go with 4 centuries and 6 half-centuries.
(Backstage with Boria inputs)
