Indian opener Mayank Agarwal had a disappointing time so far in the New Zealand tour as he failed miserably in the ODI series where he got the opportunity to open in all three games. But he will be back soon to his favourite format when India will play their first Test match against New Zealand, starting from February 21.
Ahead of the first Test, Mayank played a morale booster innings of 81 in a warm-up game on Sunday. Prior to his latest knock, Agarwal’s series of scores read 8, 32, 29, 37, 24, 0, 0, 32, 3, 1, 1, raising questions about his confidence going into the two-Test series.
However, a determined Mayank insisted that he wants to forget what happened and only wants to look forward and get over his poor run of form.
“It’s been a little different playing here but I want to leave all that behind. Whatever has happened has happened. Yes, I got an 81 in the second innings of this practice game and I want to take this confidence forward into the Test match,” he said.
The dynamic opener also revealed that he had sessions with batting coach Vikram Rathour to sort out the technical glitches that might have cropped into his batting.
“Vikram sir and me, we have sat down and spoken about the areas where we need to improve. Yes, we have worked on it. After I got out in the first innings, I went back behind to the nets, did a lot of drills. I am happy whatever I have worked on is coming good now. Just being a little too closed. That’s just one part of it. But it is what it is and I don’t want to discuss too much about it. Yes, we worked on and we’ve moved forward and I would leave all that behind.”
“It’s just one of those things that has happened while batting and I am glad that we are able to rectify it and move ahead,” Mayank added.
In the absence of injured Rohit Sharma, Mayank and Prithvi Shaw are most likely to open in the first Test n Wellington and the duo is confident that communication between them will work wonders for him.
“There’s no point thinking about what’s happened. Obviously, I can’t bring that back. The last thing I can tell myself is yes, I have got 81 not out here and I can carry that into the Test match. We (him and Shaw) have played a lot of cricket together and we have a good understanding. Whatever needs to be communicated between us, we do that.”
“Whether it is me telling him something or whether it is him tell me anything. This team culture is beyond senior and junior and the number of matches we have played. It’s all about communication, going out there, helping each other, finding ways to succeed,” he concluded.
