IPL 2021: Mayank Agarwal outlines whether being a captain changes his batting game

Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) stand-in skipper Mayank Agarwal has opined that being a captain doesn’t mean a player needs to alter his style while batting.

Mayank Agarwal led the team in Sunday’s IPL 2021 clash against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Ahmedabad in the absence of KL Rahul. He struck a brilliant 99 not out in only 58 balls even as PBKS went down in the clash by seven wickets.

At a virtual press conference following the match, Mayank Agarwal was asked whether he tried to do anything differently while batting since he was also the captain. The 30-year-old replied in the negative.

“When you play as a batsman, you don’t think a lot as a captain," Agarwal said. "As a batsman, I think you should just go out and execute your role as a player. Then, when we are on the field, I want to think as a captain.”

Mayank Agarwal did admit, though, that leading the side automatically brings along additional responsibility.

“When you are a captain and batting, you want to take that extra responsibility for your side and try and take the team through,” Agarwal added.

Despite Mayank Agarwal’s unbeaten 99, PBKS could only post 166 for six on the board as the rest of the batting order floundered. DC chased down the target without breaking too much sweat, getting home in 17.4 overs as opener Shikhar Dhawan starred with an unbeaten 69.

"There were a lot of positives to take from this game"🗣️ Skipper @mayankcricket summarizes #PBKSvDC#SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/6ejNAvrElb

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) May 2, 2021

Mayank Agarwal confirms KL Rahul is going for surgery

PBKS were dealt a severe blow after it was revealed on Sunday that their captain KL Rahul had been diagnosed with acute appendicitis. According to the official PBKS release, Rahul complained of severe abdomen pain on Saturday night and was taken to the hospital for scans.

Giving an update on Rahul during the post-match presentation, Mayank Agarwal said:

"KL Rahul is going for surgery and hopefully he should be back.”

On the result of the match against DC, Agarwal admitted that the team is disappointed.

“Would've liked two points but I guess we were about 10 short on that wicket," Agarwal continued. "And the kind of powerplay they had we really had to scrap and fight. One batsman has to bat through, that was my plan. It was my day, I took that responsibility. Unfortunately, we did not get too many in the middle overs, even though we finished well.”

Praying for KL Rahul’s health and speedy recovery 🙏❤️#SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/q81OtUz297

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) May 2, 2021

PBKS are sixth in the IPL 2021 table, having registered three wins and five losses from eight games.