Was scared when I hit Will Pucovski and Mayank Agarwal: Kartik Tyagi
Young fast bowler Kartik Tyagi has revealed that he was petrified when he hit both Will Pucovski and Mayank Agarwal during the recently-concluded India's tour of Australia.
Kartik Tyagi's bouncer hit Will Pucovski on the head during Australia A's practice game against India A leading up to the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The Australian opener, who was set to debut in the Adelaide Test, later suffered from a concussion. This ruled out the 22-year-old from the first two Tests.
The 20-year-old had also injured Agarwal in the nets before the fourth Test at the Gabba.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Kartik Tyagi explained how terrified he was as a plethora of players were being ruled out due to their respective injuries.
He also didn't want to cause more damage to the already depleted visitors.
"I hit Will Pucovski on the helmet during a warm-up game ahead of the first Test and then hit Mayank Agarwal again in the nets. I was quite scared on both occasions to be honest as already so many players were getting ruled out during the series. Thankfully, nothing major happened to both of them," Karthik Tyagi said.
Making my Test debut Down Under never came across my mind: Kartik Tyagi
As the series progressed, more than half a dozen of Team India's first-choice players were out injured.
Thus, the likes of Washingon Sundar, Shardul Thakur and even T Natarajan – initially just a net bowler for India on the tour – got an opportunity to represent their country in Test cricket.
This meant that Kartik Tyagi was the only Indian pacer on the tour who couldn't make his Test debut.
However, the 20-year-old was not disappointed about it as he was grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Indian dressing room.
He believes he has gained some valuable experience being around international players.
"Bowlers like T Natarajan and Shardul Thakur made their debut after entering the Test squad as net bowlers. Frankly, it never came across my mind that I could have also made my debut with so many injuries happening. That’s not the right attitude. I was just happy to be watching the Test series live in person while most of the world was watching it on TV," Kartik Tyagi asserted.
With their talisman Virat Kohli unavailable after the first Test (paternity leave) and a number of other players injured, India were written off and tipped to be thrashed 4-0.
However, the resilience of experienced players coupled with the exuberance of youth ensured that the visitors pulled off probably their best Test series win on foreign soil.