Is Mayank Agarwal the answer to India's opening woes in Tests?

As Mayank Agarwal faced the first ball of the 60th over today against Bangladesh, batting at 95 not out, he produced one of the most beautiful shots of the day: a textbook straight drive, to get to 99. One would perhaps think "This is it. He is our opener for the coming years."

Two bouncers later, he got a double down the leg side to reach his third test hundred in just twelve innings, less than a year after making his debut down under, where he played a major role in solidifying the top order and giving India a historic 2-1 victory against the Aussies.

After a few months' break in Test cricket thanks to the ICC World Cup, Agarwal continued to justify his selection in the home series against South Africa and Bangladesh (which is in progress at the time of writing). His current test average of 60+ makes him one of the best openers currently in the game at the moment. However, he would need to perform well in the upcoming away tests in New Zealand to really solidify his position at the top.

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Agarwal's rise to fame would not have surprised anyone who had followed even the headlines of Indian domestic cricket in the last couple of years. He scored over 2,100 runs in the 2017-18 domestic season, which is a record for any Indian. After this, it was only a matter of time before he received his call-up and eventually his debut.

He has already broken into the ICC Ranking's top 20 Test batsmen after just 8 matches in the whites and looks to be on his way into the top 10 sooner rather than later. Agarwal's familiarity with the conditions and pitches of the subcontinent has also fetched him 3 centuries in the last 5 innings on home soil, one of them being converted into a massive double against South Africa.

With the likes of KL Rahul, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan not being as consistent as they once were, Agarwal has grabbed this opportunity with both hands and doesn't look like letting go anytime soon.