The Karnataka opener, Mayank Agarwal has had a tremendous domestic season.
He had shattered many records in the domestic cricket. Meanwhile, Mayank is now looking forward to continuing his form in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Agarwal holds the record for scoring most runs in an Indian domestic season with 2,232 runs under his belt in the 2017-18.
However, he wants to continue his form and doesn’t want to be a one season wonder.
“For me as a player, one of the targets would be to succeed in this year’s IPL,” Mayank told TOI. “I don’t want to be called a one-season wonder. You want to get better with every season. I don’t want anyone to point fingers at me and say that he didn’t perform after one season,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mayank will change his base in the upcoming IPL. He will represent the Kings XI Punjab in the cash-rich league starting on April 7.
Punjab however, have some openers this time and Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, KL Rahul, Karun Nair and Agarwal himself, will all be vying for the two spots up for grabs. Mayank, though, is ready to bat in the middle-order as well.
“My aim is to add value to the side, and it doesn’t only have to be as an opener. If playing in the middle-order helps the team, so be it. Cricket is not an individual sport; it is a team sport. The team management decides what the role of a player should be; and, at the end of the day, as a player, you have to go out there and perform,” Mayank mentioned.
Meanwhile, Mayank is eager to pick the brains of KXIP team director Virender Sehwag. Both the cricketers play an attacking style of cricket, and he feels Sehwag’s inputs will help him go a long way.
“He (Sehwag) is my favourite cricketer. As a kid, I was always fascinated by the way he took the attack to the opposition and the way he dominated. What I would like to learn from him (Sehwag) is his mindset while tackling various situations,” Agarwal added. “The way he used to approach high-profile games, the way he handled spinners, and various pressure situations – all that I would like to learn. Besides him, I would also like to learn as much as possible from other stalwarts like Gayle, Finch and [Ravichandran] Ashwin,” states Agarwal.
In conclusion, Mayank admitted he is looking to playing under Ashwin’s captaincy, and it will bring the best out of him.