Mayank Agarwal was pipped to be a prodigious talent when he first burst onto the scene with the Indian under-19 team but did not really manage to translate it onto the big stage for a long time. Failed stints in the Indian Premier League and lack of a breakthrough domestic season meant the batter was restricted to the fringes when it came to conversations around the national team. Agarwal finally got his big chance in 2018 when he made his international debut in a Test Down Under. However, four years on from his debut, the 31-year-old has managed just 21 red-ball appearances and five ODIs for the Men in Blue.

"I am going to keep chasing it and improve my game with each passing day. I will be very happy with whatever comes my way, but the aspirations and dreams never die. It's about going out there, improving and ticking all those boxes."

To back his hopes, Agarwal has managed a resurgence of sorts of late. Plying his trade in the local Karnataka T20 tournament Maharaja Trophy featuring a host of capped players, the opener has tallied 480 runs in 11 innings at an average of 53.33 and strike rate of 167.24. Agarwal revealed he had been focusing on white-ball cricket ever since the IPL ended.      

"In the last four months, I've really worked hard on my batting. As you can see, I've started sweeping and reverse-sweeping the ball, that too against the fast bowlers. I've opened up four-five areas in my game which are paying rich dividends. I am very happy that the hard work I put in is paying off now," he stated.

"Getting two hundreds in a T20 tournament like the Maharaja Trophy feels amazing. It feels really nice when the players respond to you the way you want. Obviously runs behind my back really makes me feel good and then I can lead from the front," Agarwal concluded.