Most of the regular #IPL viewers were shocked to see #MayankAgarwal getting preferred over world cup winner and national icon #YuvrajSingh by #KingsXIPunjab despite his moderate outings with the bat in that season. But the Punjab management had done their homework and were aware of the precocious talent possessed by him and the kind of game changing form he was in before the onset of IPL.
Mayank Agrawal the #batsman from #Karnataka first came into limelight in the Under-19 Cooch Behar trophy in 2008 where he scored 432 runs at an average of over 50 .He then participated in the #ICCUnder19CricketWorldCup where he was the #leadingrungetter for India He was also adjudged Man of the Series in Karnataka Premier League in 2010.
Impressed by his #attackingstyleofplay he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011.The very next season he scored a 30 ball 64 against Mumbai Indians proving his worth .However lack of consistency forced him off radar .In 64 IPL matches so far Mayank has scored 934 runs at an meagre average of 16.67 and a strike rate of 123.87.
Even after making a name for himself in 2010 he had to wait till 2013 to make his First Class debut. Things changed for Mayank in the 2017-18 season once he started to handle the responsibility of giving solid starts to Karnataka under which flourished .He had a dismal start to the season scoring 31 in the first 3 innings which included a pair .But the encounter against Maharashtra in which he scored 304* (which is the 50th triple century in the Indian domestic circuit) changed the complexion of the season for
Mayank and he has not looked back .The 304* was followed by 176,23,90,133*,173,134,78 in 8 innings. Karnataka went out to Vidharba in the semis ,but Mayank had fulfilled his long held promise.
Here are some of the #recordsbyMayankAgarwal in the 2017-18 season:
1. Most runs in an Indian domestic season across all formats:-
He has scored 2162 runs in 32 innings in one single season at a whooping average of 67.56.
2. Highest run getter in the Ranji Trophy 2017-18:-
He has accumulated 1160 runs in 13 innings at an average of 105.45.In fact he is the only batsman to score more than 1000 runs in this year tournament.
3. Most runs in #VijayHazareTrophy:-
He has scored 723 runs in 8 innings this season which is the most in Inter-State Domestic List A tournament surpassing Dinesh Karthik's tally of 607 runs in 9 matches in 2016-17 season.
4. Over 250 runs in #SyedMushtaqAlitrophy:-
He has scored 258 runs in 9 innings including 3 half centuries at a brilliant strike rate of 144.94. Baroda's K.H Devdhar leads the charts with 411 runs in 8 innings.
5. Most runs in List A tournament :-
The record for the most runs in List A tournament was held by Sachin Tendulkar who scored 673 runs in 2003 ICC World cup .However Mayank Agarwal broke his record scoring 723 runs in Vijay Hazare trophy at an average of 90.37 and a strike rate of over 107.
But somehow when the Indian selectors were picking a squad for the T-20 tri series against SL & Bangladesh Mayank Agarwal just somehow missed the mark. While the right handed batsman has been busy breaking records in the domestic circuit, the least he expected was a call from the senior national selectors .The call though came from his well-wishers consoling him.
The 27 year old has not only been #consistent but #ruthlessly brilliant throughout the ongoing season, but he must have been forced hard to think what else he needs to do make the cut in the national squad?
With this missed opportunity of being a part of the Indian team he has missed a golden chance to carry his brilliant form into International cricket.
The one argument being made is that Mayank is an opener and as things stand Virat Kohli has his hands full with too many vying for that slot. And it’s not even like Mayank is only fixated on the top spot .His 176 against Delhi in the Ranji trophy
came while he was batting one down. This is turning out to be a classic case of proven Ranji performers like Mayank Agarwal, Jalaj Saxena(the best all-rounder in the Indian domestic circuit for the past 2 seasons) having to wait a lot longer for their chances while players performing in the IPL getting fast tracked into the national squad over them.
A couple of years ago in an interview, Madhya Pradesh pacer #IshwarPandey had said "If you ignore performers in domestic cricket and pick only those who do well in IPL ,then players would stop playing in tournaments like Ranji trophy. Domestic cricket minus IPL will cease to exist" .
This is a reflection on the thoughts of scores of talented cricketers who ply their wares on the domestic circuit with a one point agenda -an Indian cap .But often their efforts are overshadowed by the case of problem of plenty for a particular slot or the selector's thought process of watching a player for a couple of seasons.
Absolutely.. Well said.
This is where BCCI needs to look and allow them to play in overseas leagues only for first class level and selected list A tournaments and certainly not in any T20 leagues except IPL. Let's hope aggressive gamechanger Sourav Ganguly currently at helm of affairs of BCCI,supposedly believed to be next successor for ICC President post will think in this direction since he himself had gone to play for Glamorgan County club after being dropped from INDIAN team. This way we can get players to succeed consistently in any type of conditions. Jalaj Saxena has done enough to get noticed but if we look like for like replacement , he seems a clear swap with Ravindra Jadeja who might haven't…