PK’s Mayank Agarwal made a terrific comeback in the IPL after being dropped from Indian Test XI by working on the mental aspect of the game.
India opener Agarwal’s international career has been quite dramatic. After years of piling runs in the domestic circuit, Agarwal finally got his dues in 2018 when he debuted in the Boxing Day Test against Australia.
He didn’t take long to make an impact with an impressive knock of 76. The dasher quickly cemented his spot at the top of the order and had an incredible year in 2019, scoring 699 runs, including two double tons. Mayank was the incumbent opener for the Tests against Australia in 2020-21.
However, the life of Indian cricketers is extremely hard with its rich depth in talent, and one lean patch could pull curtains for a player. Agarwal’s case was no different, where all it took was a few failures for him to lose his spot. The 30-year-old batter had a poor start to the series against Australia, scoring only 31 runs in two Tests.
After returning with the scores of 17, 9, 0 & 5, Mayank was dropped from the third Test. He did get an opportunity in the fourth Test because of multiple injuries in the squad. Shubman Gill had a fantastic series scoring 259 runs at an average of 51.80, and was preferred in the next series against England at home.
As a result, the events of these five months took a toll on the mental health of the Karnataka batter. Speaking with InsideSport, his childhood coach RX Murali revealed how the opener started to doubt himself after being dropped from the Test team.
“It’s all about the mindset. You suddenly start creating doubts in your mind when it doesn’t match up. It takes you to a different spin altogether and you completely lose out on the mental process that you once created.
It takes you to a mode when you start doubting everything. That’s what happened with Mayank,”
Murali stated.
Murali also talked about the anxiety in sports with more competition and how one failure adds up to the stress, pushing players to a breaking point.
“There is a lot of anxiety in a sportsperson. In sports, there are more failures than success. When you are anxious about failing and know that there is a lot of competition and if you don’t perform, you are out, that adds up more.
One failure adds up to worry and that gets bigger and bigger and you completely lose out on the process. After the Australia series, he worked on the mental aspect and did well in IPL,”
Murali added.
Mayank Agarwal last played in the IPL 2021 for Punjab Kings before the tournament was suspended due to the Covid-19 outbreak inside the bio-secure bubble. Agarwal turned things around and scored 260 runs in seven games at an average of 43.3 and a strike rate of 141.3, including a breathtaking 99* against the Delhi Capitals.
Mayank has been selected for India’s tour of England, where they’re scheduled to play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and a five-match series against England. But only time will tell whether he will get the opportunity or not.
Gill, after his glorious series performance against Australia, has been in a rough patch. Gill could only score 119 runs against England in the home series at a measly average of 19.83. Gill didn’t have a good outing in the IPL either, where he only managed 132 runs in seven games. If his poor run of form continues, it could open up the door for Agarwal once again.
