Mayank Agarwal is a naturally attacking batsman, but he altered his game to good effect on his Test debut, against Australia at Melbourne on Wednesday. The clever shot selection that Mayank showed during the course of his 161-ball 76 has pleased his coach S. Muralidhar no end.
“It was a brilliant innings. He showed courage against the Australian quicks, and most importantly, he was decisive with his shot making. It all comes down to playing with a good state of mind, and Mayank showed that today,” Muralidhar told The Hindu on Wednesday.
Good state of mind
Asked how he helped Mayank gain a “good state of mind”, especially on such a big occasion, Muralidhar said, “We’ve trained for long hours to handle all types of situations, so much so that it has become a habit.
“Mayank’s game is all about taking it one ball at a time, without thinking about what happened earlier in his innings. We’d make him face 500-600 deliveries a day at nets to get him into a good state of mind. That’s the only way he can focus and score big runs.”
Muralidhar spoke about the importance of treating every ball on its merit. “Mayank reacted to what he saw. If the ball had to be defended, he defended it. If it was a loose ball, he hit it. You have to programme your mind to stick to this plan — that is the challenge,” he said.
On Mayank’s long wait for the India cap, Muralidhar said, “I told him that whatever happens, happens for a reason. In the past, Mayank would put too much pressure on himself. Now I believe he can truly relax and let it go.”
