IPL 2022: "Captaincy isn't everyone's cup of tea" - Piyush Chawla's verdict on Mayank Agarwal
Piyush Chawla believes Mayank Agarwal isn't suited to captaining an IPL team. The leg-spinner-turned-analyst observed that in his first leadership stint at Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2022, Agarwal allowed the pressure to affect his batting and on-field attitude, remarking that "captaincy isn't everyone's cup of tea".
Agarwal replaced KL Rahul as the Kings' skipper in IPL 2022. He scored 441 runs at an average of 40.09 last season, which dropped to 195 and 17.73 after the same number of matches in the current campaign. And despite building one of the strongest squads in the tournament, the Kings failed to make it to the playoffs again.
They'll now play their final match of the season, a dead-rubber, against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday. In an interaction with ESPNcricinfo, Chawla was asked how should the Kings look at Agarwal for the next season - still as a batter plus captain or just as a batter. He didn't say it directly but alluded to the latter, saying:
"The way he performed [last year] they (Punjab Kings) showed a lot of trust in him, retained him too but he couldn't stand true to it. I don't think he had much prior experience of captaincy whether in domestic cricket or with India 'A' and that was visible here. The pressure of captaincy is different and it was clearly visible in his batting as well as how he used to look a bit edgy on the field. Captaincy isn't everyone's cup of tea and it showed clearly here."
Something about Mayank Agarwal is so deeply honest, real and likable. Seems to be a top guy. Wishing him and his team the best @PunjabKingsIPL however the season ends up.
Chawla also expressed disappointment at his former franchise for dropping Shahrukh Khan, one of the stars of the 2020-21 domestic season, after "just a few games". He felt considering how hard a job finishing is in T20s, the Tamil Nadu power-hitter deserved more support to show his class. Chawla said:
"You showed so much trust in Shahrukh Khan [in the auction]. His domestic season had gone so well. But you dropped him after just a few games. The kind of batter he should have got more chances. His batting spot is very difficult and you can't expect him to win every game from there..."
Khan played seven games in the season but scored just 98 runs at an average of 16.33 and a run-a-ball strike rate. Jitesh Sharma, who settled into a similar role, was more impressive, scoring 215 runs at 30.71 and 158.09 in 11 matches.
"Punjab Kings didn't show trust on some players" - Piyush Chawla
"We are definitely going to go all guns blazing vs SRH..."
Intent = Clear ✅
Kings = Ready ✅
#SherSquad, let's do this! 👊
#PunjabKings #SaddaPunjab #IPL2022 #ਸਾਡਾਪੰਜਾਬ #SRHvPBKS https://t.co/8G1c4h7k6f
Chawla also gave a final low-down on what went wrong for the Kings, pointing to the form of batters, sluggish adaptability, and the lack of trust in some players, saying their work towards next season should start immediately. Chawla said:
"The team they had on paper at the start of the tournament, looked like a solid top-4 candidate and they started well too. But some batters lost form in the middle; I also felt there was room for some tweaks in the batting order too, which they made but it was too late. And they didn't show much trust on some players either. So it was a disappointing season for Punjab Kings. They'll have to see what changes they can make next year. It's still quite far away but the work starts now."
The match will begin at 7:30 pm IST at the Wankhede Stadium. You can catch the live proceedings here.