Mayank Agarwal will get better with time after early promise, asserts Ashish Nehra

Since being roped in as a replacement in Australia for the Boxing Day Test, Mayank Agarwal has grown immensely to cement himself a place in the Indian Test setup. In a country that has been boosted by an influx of openers, the Karnataka man’s calm and composed stature separates him from the rest as he has piled 974 runs in his 11-Tests long Indian career.

Complimenting the right-hander’s batting, former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra asserted that the 29-year-old will get better by time after his early promise in the Indian whites. Whilst the start was always tough for the opener, who farmed his way across the levels before making it to the Indian setup, Nehra admitted that the opener deserves all the chances that he has got at the top. 

“He has shown promise, there is no doubt about it. And it’s early days in his career, you have to give everyone time. He has done really well in domestic games and India-A and that’s how he got his chance. He is not somebody who has been playing domestic cricket for one or two years and suddenly he comes to the scene. He has scored a lot of runs and am sure with time he will get better and better,” Nehra said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.

In the 2019-20 Test series against New Zealand, Agarwal was the leading runscorer for the visitors, adding 102 runs in four innings at an average of 25.50. Despite visibly struggling against the quality pace attack possessed by the hosts, Nehra admitted that the opener did well in struggling conditions.

“With my experience, for batters, the most difficult place on this planet when it comes to cricket-playing nations is New Zealand. New Zealand has always been tough, so Mayank Agarwal, I am sure he has learnt a lot from the New Zealand tour. And it was not only for him, and for everyone, it was a challenge,” he added.