India vs England: Mayank Agarwal must forget 'backup' tag and make potential Edgbaston chance count
India vs England: Mayank Agarwal must forget 'backup' tag and make potential Edgbaston chance count
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“Opening batsman Mayank Agarwal was hit on the helmet while batting during India’s nets session at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Monday. The BCCI Medical Team assessed him, and a concussion test was conducted. He has shown signs of concussion and is ruled out of the opening Test against England. The 30-year-old is stable and will remain under close medical observation.”
The above statement was a BCCI press release, dated 2 August, 2021, just days before India were scheduled to play their first of five Tests against England in England. Just two days before the opening Test at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge, 31-year-old Mayank Agarwal was ruled out of the opening Test against England, then led by Joe Root. On 2 August, Agarwal had sustained a concussion while facing a short ball from Mohammed Siraj at the training nets.
Agarwal, as a result, was ruled out of the remainder of the Tests (with the fifth Test not being played and eventually being rescheduled to 1 July this year due to COVID-19 cases in the Indian camp back then).
Rahul is someone who mostly bats as an opener in Tests but was preparing for the middle-order slot with Rohit and Mayank set to open in the series opener. Mayank's injury in the nets meant India needed a new opener and it was an easy call for the team management to push Rahul back to top of the order.
In and out of the side and on the bench for majority of the calendar preceding the Test series, Rahul was short of match-practice but that hardly affected how operated in the four Tests. The Nottingham Test that Rahul played was his first in almost two years. Rahul began the series on a promising note with a knock of 84 in the first innings of the Test.
But many who followed the tour in 2021 closely will remember Rahul for his knock of 129 at the iconic Lord’s in the second Test, following an innings where Rahul said he wanted a ‘bigger’ hundred.
Had Prithvi Shaw been in England already, it would have been a different story altogether, with Shaw potentially opening and Rahul reverting to the middle-order slot but this move did work for India as Rahul impressed across the first two Tests.
Things may not have gone according to plan for Rahul in the next two Tests but he did notch up 46 in the Oval Test, and eventually end up as India’s second highest run-getter in the series (315 runs), behind Rohit Sharma 368.
Rahul injured, Rohit COVID-19 positive
Fast forward 10 months. A groin injury to KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma's COVID-19 positive report during the tour game forced selectors to include Mayank in the Test squad. While there are plenty of names - Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, KS Bharat - doing rounds for the second opener's slot, there is no certainty yet. If Rohit fails to recover, will management draft Mayank into the XI? Again, not certain but not unlikely either.
Mayank’s last overseas Test outing was in South Africa, where his only substantial performance throughout the series was a knock of 60 in the Centurion Test. This prompted former India pacer Ajit Agarkar to opine that Mayank had ‘technical faults’.
“He has wasted a chance because he started the series well. It is not easy when Rabada is in such good rhythm, the way he was bowling, but he [Mayank] has technical faults. He gets out in the same way and he will get more exposed, especially, in overseas conditions,” Agarkar had said in January this year, when India were touring the Proteas.
“He could have done very little with this ball because it was close to the off-stump on a good length, moved away slightly after pitching and bounced as well. Mayank Agarwal has not played much in overseas conditions as well because he is the third or fourth opener,"Agarkar explained.
The South Africa series was followed by two home Tests against Sri Lanka in March , but for Agarwal personally, it was not a good series to remember with his top score being 33 in the first Test.
Mayank's away troubles
Mayank Agarwal has been impressive in home Tests otherwise, scoring 898 runs from nine matches (four hundreds) at an average of 69.07, but his overseas Test records are far from impressive. Let’s break down at each of Agarwal’s overall performances on foreign soil.
Agarwal averages the worst against West Indies in West Indies, having scored just 80 from two matches at an average of 20. Against New Zealand, it’s slightly better with 102 runs from two games at an average of 25.50. But then again, against South Africa in South Africa, Agarwal’s average is in the 20s, 22.50 to be exact (135 runs from three matches).
Agarwal, however, has done a pretty decent job Down Under, amassing 273 runs from five matches at an average of 30.33 against Australia, including a highest score of 77.
Agarwal has not tested himself in Test cricket in England, and that will pose a different challenge altogether. Pitches in England are known to offer a lot of swing, and facing the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad in England won’t be easy.
Agarwal may not be in India’s long-term plans as far as Test cricket is concerned, but even as a backup opener, he has to make the opportunity count. He may not have taken part in the practice match against Leicestershire recently, but for inspiration, he can always learn and get valuable inputs from KL Rahul, who has almost done it all in England.
This is the last Test India play for a while, and do not have Test assignments in the near future. All in all, Agarwal has to forget his ‘back-up’ tag for this Test match, and make the opportunity, if it comes his way, count.
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