IPL 2020: Theory Behind The Transformation Of Mayank Agarwal 2.0

Kings XI Punjab's Mayank Agarwal is scaling high after pushing KL Rahul down and taking the Orange Cap scoring most runs in IPL 2020. Mayank is now the highest run-scorer in IPL 2020 with 246 runs from three games.

Image: @mayankcricket

The talk of the town is all about Mayank Agarwal after he registered his maiden IPL century against the Royals in just 45 balls after his previous innings against capitals which just fell short of 5 runs. Made his IPL debut in 2011 for RCB and after 9 long years, he is finally coming in terms of mastering the shorter format of the game. He has always had the talent to do what he is doing in the current IPL. He made a blistering 64* off just 30 balls for RCB against MI in 2012 IPL  and took them to a healthy 171 when RCB were struggling at 80/4 after 12 overs an innings which many would fondly remember and that is the day I thought this young kid would go all the way to represent India in all formats. He had all in him. Be it a flair or fearless attitude. He is a deep thinker but rather thinks too much on his approach, mindset, and technique putting unwanted pressure on himself which was the prime reason that took many a year to break into international cricket and now finally dominating in IPL. He will prepare so hard for IPL every year and things never kicked off for him. IPL is a tournament in which each team has around 25 players in the squad and the team management keeps changing the players to get the right combination against particular ground conditions and the opposition strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes even a player does well there might be a chance for him to warm the bench due to the above-mentioned dynamics. Unless otherwise, you become an established name its always difficult in a quality tournament like this where competition for places is always going to be tough.The above table clearly suggests until last year in 2019 IPL, he has never played the whole season for any franchisee all these long years. Neither was he given a long run in any of the teams nor was he given an opportunity to bat on a particular position on a consistent basis. He was unclear about his role whether he is a top-order batsman or a finisher which also did hamper his preparations and mindset which clearly reflected in his performances and such things hamper a player's confidence totally. Mayank was someone who suffered this fate and the classical example was in IPL 2018 when he was swapped around from opening the batting to even no:6 with no fixed role for him which again dented his confidence and affected his performances that too after he did a Don Bradman in domestic cricket in Ranji Trophy for his state Karnataka in the previous year which opened the gate for him to finally realize his dream of representing his country in test cricket against Australia in Dec 2018 in which he responded splendidly with the scores of 76 & 42 and then continued his rich form against South Africa and Bangladesh with double hundreds against both the opponents.

Now a regular test opener for the national side the way he has approached this IPL is totally different. The way he has stuck on to his strengths matured decision making, and believe he possesses is something every cricketer needs to have in his playing days to succeed.2019 IPL was the actual turn around for him when I was also a part of Kings XI as a performance coach, we clearly decided to give him a role to bat at no:3 the whole tournament and that is the only year he played the whole tournament without getting dropped and a fixed position to bat and he knew what exactly his role was which helped him immensely to grow in confidence in this format. His personal coach RX Muralidhar who hails from Bangalore has to be given a lot of credit for mentoring him during many tough and challenging times in his career.

Runs Scoring Areas

Short pitched deliveries have been something which he has worked on very well these days. Below are the stats of the same from the Year 2012 to 2018.

MAYANK AGARWAL AGAINST SEAMERS ABOVE CHEST HEIGHT FROM YEAR 2012 to 2108 He has scored most of his boundaries from 2012 to 2018 down the ground on the rise. His technique didn’t really allow him to score runs square on either side of the wicket which was a big drawback for him to emerge as an all-around player. He has worked on immensely on his technique to iron out those flaws and this IPL is a prime example of him scoring a lot of runs through pulls, cuts, and square drives. Below is the wagon of Mayank in this IPL where the wagon wheel against pace bowlers looks more complete with runs scored all over the ground.

Technique Analysis playing short-pitched deliveries 2015 & 2020 Stance

Left – 2015 for Delhi DareDevils Right – 2020 KXIP See the difference in backlift in the left compared to the right. On the left screen its almost pointing towards the leg slip.

Position at Bowler's Release Point

He sets himself beautifully on the right screen with a high backlift to counter the short-pitched deliveries which will also allow him to rock back and play cuts/square drives through point. Whereas in the left screen his left shoulder is opened up.

Getting set to play

In the right screen, he is well balanced to pull the ball in front of the wicket whereas in the left screen due to his closed front foot and he is still on top of his downswing will have little time to control the pull shot and often ends up getting rushed by the ball resulting in getting caught at square leg.

Point Of Contact

On the right, he has got enough time to reach for the ball and execute the pull shot perfectly whereas in the left screen the ball rushes him and he ends up playing the shot more open-chested where he won't have proper control of the shot.

Finish

With the closed front foot its impossible for him to pull in front of the wicket whereas in the right he pulls comfortably through mid-wicket for a boundary.

Lofted shot Over Mid Off

Left – Still head with a high backlift Right – Making room and hitting on the rise over mid-off for a maximum

Cuts through Point

Left – Exactly the same position as he was executing the pull shot. Right – Allows the ball and plays it late with a crisp cut shot through point for a boundary.