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Indian opening batsman Mayank Agarwal has acknowledged that he was a little fearful when he made his Test debut against Australia in the Boxing Day Test of 2018. He added that the many seasons of domestic cricket he had played before his debut helped him overcome the nerves.
Mayank Agarwal spoke at length about his journey as a cricketer in a conversation with Aakash Chopra that was shared by the latter on his Facebook page.
The Karnataka opening batsman was asked how difficult it was for him to wait for his India Test cap for a long time even after scoring truckloads of runs in domestic cricket. He responded that from a cricketer's personal perspective, it is important that he gets an opportunity when he is in great form and is confident of performing well at the highest level.
"As a player, it definitely goes on in your mind that I have scored so many runs, I am playing well and if I am given a chance now then I will be able to play well. But it is a situation where you were thinking as a player from your own point of view."
Mayank Agarwal observed that even though he was making a lot of runs, there were other cricketers like KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan who were performing well for India, which made it difficult for him to get a chance.
"But if you see from the other angle, you will see that KL Rahul was playing well, Prithvi got a chance and he scored a century, Murali Vijay was playing well and Shikhar Dhawan was also playing well. So, you will have to see that you are making runs but if the spot is open or not."
Mayank Agarwal added that if he were to see things from the selectors' or the team management's viewpoint, he could understand why he couldn't get a break.
"It is very easier said than done. Your thoughts will come but if you see how a selector might be thinking or how the team management might be thinking, it gives you a different perspective."
Aakash Chopra further asked Mayank Agarwal about his mindset when finally given a chance to make his Test debut. The former Indian opener claimed that a player could either be very confident because of the number of runs he has scored or could be slightly fearful as he is getting a chance after great difficulty.
Mayank Agarwal admitted that he was a little fearful, but added that the long hours he had spent at the crease in domestic cricket gave him the maturity to tackle the situation.
"I was a little fearful. Not a lot of people get a chance to play Test cricket for India. And I was getting that chance in Australia, so I was a little fearful. But Indian domestic cricket teaches you. When you play that many seasons in domestic cricket, you understand it, you become a lot more mature."
Mayank Agarwal on opening the innings in the 2018 Boxing Day Test
Mayank Agarwal was also asked about his feelings when going out to open the innings for India on a green first-day pitch at Melbourne after the visitors won the toss and opted to bat first.
The 29-year-old responded that the Indian head coach Ravi Shastri had informed him a couple of days in advance that he would be making his Test debut, and also asked him to believe in his abilities that had yielded so many runs in domestic cricket.
"Two days before the game started, Ravi bhai said that I would be getting a game and asked me to get prepared and that he was looking forward to me opening the innings. He told me to trust in my abilities, that I have come the hard way, scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket and that I did not have to make any major changes."
Mayank Agarwal iterated that he would be lying if he said that he was not nervous, with the excitement of playing the Boxing Day Test match dominating his mind.
"I was nervous. If I say that I was not nervous, then it would be a wrong thing to say. When I was warming up and doing the regular routines, there was an excitement of playing the Boxing Day Test match for India."
Mayank Agarwal gave an excellent account of himself in his debut Test match against Australia. The opening batsman scored 76 runs in the first innings and stitched together an 83-run partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara for the second wicket to help India reach a score of 443/7 declared.
Mayank Agarwal top-scored for India with 42 runs in the second innings as the visitors went on to win the match by 137 runs.
