IPL 2020: 'In T20s, you have to take risks a little more often,' says Mayank Agarwal
Kings XI Punjab batsman Mayank Agarwal recently spoke about the differences between playing in a T20 game and playing in the longer formats. He believes that there are always risks involved in competitive cricket but asserted that T20 cricket requires players to take risks more frequently.
The 29-year-old understands that the shortest version of the game is not just about power and believes that a player has to be cautious about the margin of error.
Speaking to Hindustan Times from Dubai, Mayank Agarwal said:
“Test cricket is an altogether different format; the focus is on batting for longer periods. In T20s you need explosive power, but it’s not just a power game. In competitive cricket margin of error is anyway less. If you make a mistake the other teams are ready to pounce on that. There is always risk involved, just that in T20s you have to take those risks a little more often.”
The KXIP star had tasted instant success in Test match cricket, becoming the second-fastest batsman to score two double hundreds. However, he hasn’t been able to replicate that form in the IPL so far. In 11 editions, he has only managed to score 1277 runs at a strike rate of 128.13.
Mayank Agarwal is now hoping to improve his overall performance this season:
“We’ve been speaking about that (IPL form) even during the lockdown. Anil bhai told me the areas I can improve. We got down to watching lot of videos and (he) opened up different perspectives in my game on the field - figuring out how to turn those 40s, 50s into bigger scores and some other starts into match-winning knocks.”
'Till the game starts, it’s not decided where I will be batting': Mayank Agarwal
With KL Rahul and Chris Gayle in the Kings XI Punjab ranks, Mayank Agarwal had batted at No.3 in IPL 2019. However, he revealed that the team management is yet to decide on a strategy for the upcoming season.
“Till the game starts, it’s not decided where I will be batting. I am really looking forward to this tournament. We have had some time to prepare in Bangalore as well as here. We still need to sit and talk; we need to go through each role and the position I’m going to bat.”
Kings XI Punjab is scheduled to kick off their IPL 2020 campaign against the Delhi Capitals on 20th September.