Mayank Agarwal began 'doubting' himself after being dropped from India's Test team reveals his childhood coach

Mayank Agarwal endured a tough time with the bat in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He scored just 78 runs across the three Tests and was dropped as an opener for the final two Tests. Agarwal's childhood coach RX Murali revealed the Indian batsman started 'doubting' himself after being overlooked ahead of WTC final starting from June 18 as per WTC final schedule.

In his last eight Test innings, Agarwal has scored only 88 runs. Shubman Gill has seemingly jumped ahead in the pecking order, especially after his exploits in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

In a chat with InsideSport, Mayank Agarwal's childhood coach spoke about how the opener began to doubt himself after being dropped from the Test team.

Check the ICC WTC points table.

"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." said RX Murali.

The renowned coach added that players are becoming more anxious about their place in the team with serious competition for places.

"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," said Murali.

What a test match it has been for India 🇮🇳 Big Congratulations to @ImIshant for playing his 100th test game , 11 wickets and match winning performance by @akshar2026 , Massive achievement of 400 wickets in test cricket for @ashwinravi99 👏🏼👏🏼Big win and step closer 😬 pic.twitter.com/hWrNjbZ19H

— Mayank Agarwal (@mayankcricket) February 25, 2021

Mayank Agarwal has been named in the 20-man India squad for WTC final. However, going by what happened in the India-England home Test series, the team management is likely to back Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as the openers, at least at the start of the tour.

"IPL performances definitely boosted his confidence massively"- Mayank Agarwal's coach RX Murali

Mayank Agarwal will be leading Punjab Kings in Rahul’s absence ❤️Wishing you all the luck, @mayankcricket 🤞#SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #IPL2021 @PunjabKingsIPL pic.twitter.com/MtYupha8HB

— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) May 2, 2021

Mayank Agarwal showed what he is capable of as the batsman during his impressive run with the bat in the postponed IPL 2021 season.

RX Murali revealed the two of them worked on the mental side of his game before the T20 tournament.

“He already has the technique. All he needs is confidence. IPL performances definitely boosted his confidence massively. Before IPL, we worked on the mental aspects and it succeeded in the tournament. It gave him the template to work on as it is a continuous process," Murali added.

Mayank Agarwal scored 260 runs at an average of 43.3, while his strike rate was 141.3 in seven games in IPL 2021. It remains to be seen whether the opener will be able to make his mark in the upcoming six Tests against New Zealand & England.