India’s opening batsman Mayank Agarwal’s childhood coach RX Murali believes his ward started questioning himself after he was dropped from the Test team.
Agarwal was dropped from the Test team after the Melbourne Test match against Australia.
The right-hander from Karnataka couldn’t deliver the goods in the first two Test matches against Australia and thus the team decided to back Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, who made a good debut at the MCG, in the third Test match. Agarwal then received another chance in the Gabba Test match as there were a plethora of injury woes but couldn’t convert his start into a substantial score.
Agarwal, who made an impressive start to his Test career, then was not picked in the final XI in the four Test matches against England in the home conditions as Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill opened the innings for the team.
“It’s all about the mindset. You suddenly start creating doubts in your mind when it doesn’t match up. It takes you to a different spin altogether and you completely lose out on the mental process that you once created. It takes you to a mode when you start doubting everything. That’s what happened with Mayank.” said RX Murali while talking to InsideSport.
“There is a lot of anxiety in a sportsperson. In sports, there are more failures than success. When you are anxious about failing and know that there is a lot of competition and if you don’t perform, you are out, that adds up more. One failure adds up to worry and that gets bigger and bigger and you completely lose out on the process,” said Murali.
On the other hand, even Gill could not deliver in the four Test matches against England as he scored 119 runs in four matches. Thus, it will be interesting to note who will be India’s opener along with veteran batsman Rohit Sharma for the WTC final.
Meanwhile, Mayank Agarwal scored 260 runs in seven matches for Punjab Kings in IPL 2021 before the tournament was indefinitely postponed by BCCI due to Covid-19 cases.
The WTC final will take place at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton from June 18.
