Before the much-awaited start of the season, Mayank Agarwal had become the face of anticipation. He was acquired by SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) for a whopping ₹8.25 crores at the IPL 2023 mini-auction after being released by his former team Punjab Kings (PBKS). Unfortunately, as it is, the SRH opener has not been able to live up to expectations so far this season. He has only been able to score 113 runs in five matches, making for an average of 22.6.
The SRH camp expected a more attacking batting style from Mayank Agarwal, but his strike rate of 108.65 leaves much to be desired. His performances have already drawn criticism this season, though this is not new for the opener, who had received similar comments in previous seasons too.
Let’s look at 3 such instances:
1) 48 off 41 vs MI, IPL 2023
On Tuesday (April 18), Mayank Agarwal got off to a promising start while chasing a target of 193 against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 25 of IPL 2023. However, he couldn’t quite pick up the momentum as he struggled to make his way through the innings. With other players, including Aiden Markram and Henrich Klassen, being forced to take greater risks, SRH ultimately fell short of the target and got bowled out for 178. Agarwal scored 48 runs off 41 balls, including four boundaries and a six, but could not maintain a strike rate of more than 117.07. This inadequate performance from the 32-year-old saw SRH miss out on the victory and resulted in some criticism from fans.
2) 34 off 33 vs CSK, Qualifier 1, IPL 2011
In 2011, Mayank Agarwal debuted in the Indian Premier League with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). However, his season was underwhelming, as he scored only 141 runs at an average of 20 and a strike rate of 117.
Once Tillakaratne Dilshan left the tournament due to international duties, RCB sought several potential opening partnerships, eventually offering Agarwal a chance to impress against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Qualifier 1 match in Mumbai. Alongside Chris Gayle, he started well but eventually faded, taking 33 balls to score his 34 runs with a less-than-satisfactory strike rate of 103.03. Virat Kohli had a remarkable 70-run knock off 40 balls, but it was not enough to outscore CSK, who won the tie following Suresh Raina’s clinical 74-run innings in just 50 balls.
3) 18 off 21 vs CSK, IPL 2022
Mayank Agarwal’s knock for PBKS in the 38th match of the 2022 IPL season against CSK was far from dynamic. Opening the batting with Shikhar Dhawan at the Wankhede Stadium, PBKS needed a strong start to post a competitive total, but Agarwal could only hit two boundaries in his 24-ball stay, scoring 21 runs at a sluggish rate of 85.7. Although he did rotate strike effectively, the lack of boundaries meant that PBKS could only post 37 runs during their powerplay – their least productive of the 2022 season. With a dot-ball percentage of more than 43%, it was Mayank Agarwal’s slowest performance as a PBKS batsman.