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'I know you haven't got lot of runs..': Mayank Agarwal reveals how Dravid's 'advice' worked for him ahead of 2nd NZ Test
The opener had been going through a rough patch in the Tests, having failed to put a 50+ score in 10 innings preceding the century in Mumbai.
Team India's opener Mayank Agarwal enjoyed a stellar outing in the second Test of the series against New Zealand earlier this month. Mayank broke a two-year-long century drought, scoring 150 in the first innings of the Mumbai Test and followed it with an important 65 in the second, as India recorded their biggest victory (by runs).
The opener had been going through a rough patch in the longest format of the game, having failed to put a 50+ score in 10 innings preceding the century in Mumbai. Earlier this year, Mayank also lost his place as the first-choice opener in Test XI, with KL Rahul taking over the role alongside Rohit Sharma. However, Mayank returned to the team after both Rohit and Rahul were rested for the New Zealand series.
As a result of his solid knocks in the second Test, the opener retained his place in the squad for the three-match tour of South Africa. Mayank insisted that Team India's newly-appointed head coach Rahul Dravid played a key role in the mental aspect of his game and infused confidence in him.
“He said I know you haven't got a lot of runs but just manage your emotions. Manage your mental energy and your thoughts. Don't dwell too much on it, he helped in the mental aspect,” Mayank told Sportskeeda as he recalled his conversation with Dravid ahead of the second Test.
The opener further said that Dravid told him to ‘stick to basics' and not try too much.
“On the technical aspect, he insisted that this is the technique which gave you a lot of runs in the past. Just stick to that, the runs will come. Back the things that have worked for you, and fortunately in the very next innings, the runs came,” said Mayank.
The right-handed batter is named in the squad for the South Africa series alongside Rahul and Rohit, who was also named the new vice-captain of the Test side. The series begins on December 26 with the first Test in Centurion.
