KL Rahul-Mayank Agarwal: Boxing Day, cricket and eternal friendship

Imagine being in a situation where you have a friend for all seasons – a friend that isn’t just around to pick you up when you are down in the dumps but is also there to celebrate your success vociferously. With that person in the mix, you feel that there is nothing that could go wrong and even if it does, getting out of the rut alongside him/her seems easier.

Apart from all the memories created together, this individual also helps you develop trust, understand the kind of person you are and of course, enables you to go out of your way and learn things that you would’ve ordinarily neglected.

In simpler words, everything good about life is embodied by this friend and everything, whether it be personal relationships or professional gigs, means a lot more with someone of this ilk holding your hand at all times.

From a cricketing perspective, this is just the kind of relationship KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have enjoyed. Not just as top-drawer batters representing the Indian cricket team, but also as friends who have risen through the ranks, while rejoicing in the other’s success and offering an empathetic shoulder when the occasion has demanded.

For those wondering, Mayank and Rahul have been playing cricket together since their formative years – something that can be dated back to their U-13 days and a camaraderie that is evident every time they walk out onto the field.

Rahul, until very recently, was a part of the Punjab Kings setup in the IPL and was leading the side, with Mayank acting as the deputy every captain craved. The pair, apart from plundering runs at the top of the order, ensured that the franchise kept ticking along, even as those around them floundered spectacularly.

The ebbs and flows that Mayank and Rahul enjoyed as domestic cricketers representing Karnataka are a part of Indian cricketing folklore too. In fact, it has been a massive factor in shaping Mayank and Rahul – both as cricketers and human beings.

Rahul has been named vice-captain for India's Test series against South Africa

However, there is another intriguing angle attached to Mayank and Rahul – an angle that somehow almost always intertwines itself with this beautiful narrative on Boxing Day – a day where people are, despite what skeptics suggest, allowed to dream just a tad more.

Back in 2014, Rahul was feeling his way around international cricket. He hadn’t cast himself as a white-ball behemoth and had forced his way into the Indian team on the sheer volume of domestic runs he had scored.

His debut, by the way, was at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day, with the series hanging in the balance. India had, before that game, lost both Tests (at Adelaide and Brisbane), meaning that they needed a victory to stay alive.

Unsurprisingly, the pressure mounted on Rahul as he entered the fray at 409/4, with India still trailing 121 runs. At first, he looked twitchy, especially against Nathan Lyon.

Moments later, he proved those notions right as he hacked across the line and top-edged a sweep to Josh Hazlewood. In the 4th Test of that series, though, Rahul notched up his maiden hundred, meaning that his gross miscalculation at the MCG was put down to tentativeness.

However, when he returned to that very venue on Boxing Day in 2018, Rahul was at the other end of the spectrum – nervously looking over his shoulder and hoping that he wouldn’t be dropped after a string of notoriously low scores.

As fate would have it, Mayank replaced Rahul for that Test match and he immediately captured the imagination of the cricketing community. The former scored a splendid half-century on debut – a feat that was whole-heartedly celebrated by the man he had replaced (Rahul).

Under ordinary circumstances, a player who was dropped (Rahul in this case) might not have thrown his weight behind the man that blossomed in his stead. Yet, those moments only illustrated the deep-lying friendship that existed between Mayank and Rahul.

But then, destiny decided to play another trick – this time, letting Mayank know what it felt like to be dropped for a Boxing Day Test (in 2020 against Australia). That exclusion, though, also meant that Mayank’s technique, which had seemed water-tight till then, came under the scanner.

To be fair to Mayank, he seems to have worked extremely hard to eradicate (or mask) as many weaknesses as possible – something that came to the fore in the recently-concluded Test series against New Zealand, where Mayank single-handedly powered India to victory at Mumbai.

In between, though, there was another instance where Mayank seemed destined to open for India (against England in August 2021), only for concussion to rule him out. No prizes for guessing that Rahul stepped into the spotlight and carved a niche for himself at the top of the order.

Again, it would’ve been very easy for Mayank to shrug his shoulders because he was deemed dispensable at Rahul’s expense. Yet, it only made the bond between him and Rahul stronger.

KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are set to open together at Centurion

So much so that their friendship has won over whatever kismet had in store. And they are, barring any last-minute mishaps, slated to open in a Test together on Boxing Day – years after dreaming about it as teenagers.

During that journey, there have been ups and downs, make no mistake about it. In the past few years alone, the Mayank and Rahul story has been one of disjunction – a fable where one gets a chance only if the other is unavailable or is undergoing a rut. There is a reason why Mayank and Rahul have opened together for India in red-ball cricket only five times.

Now, though, they have a chance to weave this narrative in conjunction because, let’s face it, it really is the stuff of dreams.

Not just the fact that they will be striding out together, pristinely dressed in whites and arm in arm at Centurion, but also that they have, despite facing so many obstacles, managed to retain the excitement and glint in their eyes – a glint that comes about only when friendship prevails in its truest form.

For those with a more poetic inclination, this is emblematic of everything that is good in life. They’ve picked each other up from their nadirs and been as chuffed when the other has been at his zenith.

Thus, it is only fitting that when both are nearing perfection, with respect to their Test batting status, they will be fighting the South African challenge together.

Having said that, there is no guarantee that this will last. Rohit Sharma will waltz into the eleven when he is fit and if India continue to show the inclination to not omit Cheteshwar Pujara, despite his prolonged lean patch, it could again be a case of Mayank or Rahul.

That, however, doesn’t mean that their camaraderie on the field can’t be enjoyed while it lasts. This is the KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal chronicle – including Boxing Days, cricket and of course, eternal friendship. And, it is pretty good too!