Aggression and adaptability: The bedrocks of Mayank Agarwal's success (Exclusive)
Mayank Agarwal has a busy few months lined up. It starts with the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand, followed by a five-match Test series against England. And he's gearing up for it in his own way now that IPL 2021 has hit pause.
If not for the damp squib that the coronavirus was, the world would have witnessed more of Agarwal, who, by his own admission, was happy with the kind of run he had with the bat in IPL 2021.
The Punjab Kings (PBKS) weren't ideally where they wanted to be. In KL Rahul, they have a young skipper leading a dynamic side, and in Agarwal, they have a batsman who has the ability to change gears at consummate ease.
However, the results didn't exactly go their way, and ever-honest with his answers, Agarwal minced no words when he said they could have been in a better place.
"We would have definitely liked to have a couple more wins under our belt," Agarwal opined in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, where he got candid about playing the WTC, staying fit, and his relationship with Rahul, his fellow India and Karnataka mate. "But I thought we did play fairly good cricket and we didn't really win some of the crucial moments at crucial points in the game."
"With what has happened now, we have a chance to sit back, think about it, talk about it, work on it and come back better." Agarwal and PBKS will be hoping they can get a move on from sixth place in the points table
The chat then shifted to whether captaincy was a factor that always brought out the best in him, and the Karnataka batsman did not necessarily feel that way.
"I wouldn't think so. It's different for different people," he explained. "I quite enjoyed the game I captained, and it definitely brought out the best in me."
While there was a massive dose of modesty in that statement, the knock he played against the Delhi Capitals also cemented his ability to lead from the front when the situation asked him to. Agarwal blitzed an unbeaten 58-ball 99 studded with eight hits to the fence and four over it.
Flair, crisp timing, power and maturity were on full display as he paced his innings as captain. KL Rahul, the regular skipper, was sidelined after being diagnosed with acute appendicitis, and that meant the baton was handed to Agarwal, who garnered immense praise on social media for leading from the front.
By the end of eight games, Agarwal had stacked up 260 runs from seven matches at an average of 43.33 and a healthy strike rate of 141.3 with two fifties to his name.
'I'm a naturally aggressive player, that's how I like to play'
The numbers in IPL 2021 shouldn't come as a surprise. Not after watching him play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2011, when he slog-swept Muttiah Muralitharan for a six that saw a ripple of shock flow through the crowd. Here was a 20-year-old Agarwal, facing a legend, and all he did was plant his foot forward, lift the ball off his pads and launch it into the stands off his first ball against the tweaker.
Then came that unbeaten 30-ball-64 blitzkrieg in 2012 against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the M Chinnaswamy. Mumbai may have won the match by five wickets, but it was Agarwal's assault in the first innings that saw Bangalore go from 87/4 to 171/6.
Bearing the brunt of Agarwal's hard-hitting was Munaf Patel. He gave away 24 runs in the final over as Agarwal notched up his fifty in just 26 balls. To provide some perspective, his teammate Chris Gayle's fastest fifty that season came off 24 balls.
The first delivery was a full-toss. Smacked over long-off.
The second was a four cut through the point region.
The third was slammed to long-off and the fourth saw a breather in the form of a quick double.
The fifth ball saw him rock back, move a tad to the offside, and then get under the ball to launch it over deep midwicket.
The caning ended with another double towards long-on. It wasn't a show by RCB's famed top-order. Agarwal cranked it up at the Chinnaswamy in the middle of a rain delay and a faulty floodlight issue.
The aggressive approach has been Agarwal's strength and he enjoys that facet of his game. At the same time, he also stressed the need to be game-aware.
"I am a naturally aggressive player and that's how I like to play. I think the approach depends on what role you've been given and what the situation demands," he explained.
"At the time when I was playing for RCB, the rule given to me was to go out there and play fearless and aggressive cricket. So that was something I used to do back then. I think over the years it's also changed a bit because in RCB I opened the innings, but also played in the lower middle order."
"It differs and varies from side to side and from the role that you've been given. But I am naturally an aggressive player and that's, that's how I like to play."
Agarwal the T20 batsman vs Agarwal the Test batsman
Switching seamlessly between formats requires adaptability. Agarwal brought that up the minute the conversation moved to Test cricket.
"There's obviously a big difference in the format. I'm looking to adapt and in Test cricket, scoring runs at pace is not the question. Occupying the crease, building partnerships, spending more time at the wicket is something that I look to do in Tests."
He might be 14 Tests old, but Agarwal is well aware of what his approach is. "I try and play low-risk cricket in Tests, but when it comes to T20s, it's a faster game and I can be a lot more aggressive when I'm playing. In a shorter format, it's more what role you have been given."
And despite the relatively short time he's spent with the side, the 30-year-old is wary of the challenges he has to face to break into the playing XI. With Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, there's enough experience and talent that makes it tough for Agarwal to cement his position.
The challenge and competition, he says, is healthy. "As players, to have the competition we have in the team is healthy," he said. “We're all working really hard to improve our game, but my thought is that every session that I get a chance to improve, I want to improve as a player. I want to get better as a player."
"If I can keep doing that, if I can keep improving, if I can keep getting better and better as a player, then the rest of the things will take care of themselves. I don't think too much about that part. The thought is always to keep improving and keep getting better at adding the little things to your game which, you know, can make a big difference."
Preparing for the WTC and the English challenge
There was a sense of excitement in his voice when the England challenge was mentioned. "The World Test Championship and the England series is something that I'm really looking forward to," he remarked. "It's the first-ever world championship final. Preparations... I think it will be done a lot mentally as well."
We will have some time when we reach England to prepare for it. But I think a lot of it starts now when you start thinking, visualizing, and preparing for the World Test championship first and then the England series."
So, if the situation asks for it, will he be ready to roll his arm over?
"A hundred percent," is the instant response. "I think it's very important for a cricketer to keep adding some skill or the other. It can definitely help in a lot of ways."
"Even if it is just to improve as a bowler. In these times (the pandemic) you don't really get as many net bowlers, so it's just helpful. If you can roll your arm over, then somebody else is also getting the practice, it's always an advantage."
"Bowling does add a lot more to your game. If you can provide two or three overs in a one-day game, that's also going to help. If you can do that in a Test match, you are adding more value to your side as a player."
Staying fit during a ravaging pandemic
The IPL 2021 season opener saw an Agarwal who was leaner, fitter, and at the same time, generated power to clear ropes at will. One of the pictures on his Instagram during the previous edition of the IPL gave you an idea of what to expect beneath his frame.
It's more than those hip thrusts, the squats, and the deadlifts. The explosiveness on the field and with the bat was a result of his hyperbolic time chamber-level training during the pandemic.
The outlook towards fitness has changed drastically over the years. Gone are the days when burly frames were looked at as a symbol of power and strength. Leaner, faster and stronger has been the word on the streets and Agarwal's put in the hard yards to become a sculpted and strong athlete.
"To be honest, when there was a lockdown initially last year in March, we didn't know when we were going to play again or when things would open up. The thought behind staying fit is that if you can create a routine for day-to-day life and have a strict fitness schedule, it's only going to help you because you don't just do fitness just for a particular tour."
"For me, the idea has always been to get fitter and better and make it part of everyday lifestyle. So, with that mindset, it got quite a lot easier."
"As we got more clarity, I started working harder and harder towards staying fit, and I felt really good. As the pandemic continued, I realised that you don't usually have this much of a break. It was like an off-season," Agarwal said.
"So I thought, 'okay, well, this is great.' You know, this is the time I could do off-season training. I focused and worked hard. I said, 'If I can use this off-season, I could really add years to my playing career.'"
Camaraderie with KL Rahul
It's hard not to talk about Rahul and Agarwal when watching the IPL. The world has seen the duo stride out to bat together, and their off-field camaraderie hasn't gone amiss on social media.
"Definitely, our off-the-field friendship definitely does help. It has helped both of us. We really enjoy it, really enjoy each other's company, you know? We understand each other's game and batting together. We've been playing together since the age of 11. We know when each of us is batting at our best.
"That's something we're looking to do," Agarwal added.
"We're always looking to push each other to get better and better. That said, I think we've formed a very good partnership and we've produced good results as well."