Possibly the only blip in Ravi Shastri's and Virat Kohli's tenure as India's head coach and captain is the fact that they haven't brought home an ICC title. While they came close several times including the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 ODI World Cup, the trophy eluded them as they produced consistently poor performances with the bat in big games.
This is in sharp contrast to the Indian team in normal games when the batting outclasses the opponents more often than not. It has raised questions about the big players in the team and their ability to perform under pressure. Virat Kohli, for instance, averages 22 in ODI tournament finals.
To counter this issue - collapses to Mohammad Amir and Trent Boult standing out - India might need a gun big match player and they might have one around in the Test team already. Mayank Agarwal has become a mainstay in the Test batting line-up but his bigger future might lie in the limited-overs side where his big match temperament could be more than handy.
Mayank slammed 69 in 55 balls in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy finals for Karnataka against Tamil Nadu to take his team to a fourth Vijay Hazare title. Walking in at one down, Mayank hit Vijay Shankar for a magnificent six over cover before hitting T Natarajan for three fours in one over to put pressure on Tamil Nadu. His belligerent knock ensured Tamil Nadu had no way back into the game.
This isn't a one-off from Mayank either. Earlier this year in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy finals, Mayank made 85 in 57 balls with six fours and three sixes in a run-chase of 156. His exquisite knock took Karnataka to a comfortable win and the no 3 batsman was awarded the Man of the Match award.
Last year in the Vijay Hazare Trophy finals, Mayank, opening the innings, made 90 in 79 balls with 11 fours and 3 sixes. Authority is a trademark in each of his three brilliant knocks in the finals. The strike rates show that he wasn't just playing big knocks but compounding the pressure on the opponents with his aggression.
Given the qualities he has shown in Test cricket and the promise he holds in the shorter formats, Mayank could just be the missing link that India need to plug in order to win an ICC trophy soon.
Read: What spurred Mayank Agarwal’s penchant for big knocks
Featured image courtesy: AFP/Randy Brooks
