India opener Mayank Agarwal has got off to a great start in Test cricket. The Karnataka cricketer has notched two 70-plus scores in his first two Test matches and is on track to be part of India’s historic Test series win against Australia. After the visitors declared at 622/7, the Australians ended Day 2 of the fourth Test at 24/0. India are already leading the series 2-1.

Agarwal expressed that he wanted to be a pilot before deciding to be a cricketer.

“I had a craze for aeroplanes, so I wanted to study science and become a pilot. When I played for Karnataka, I thought, cricket could be a career path for me. That time, I kept my options open and my parents told me that I should pursue the thing I have a passion for. So I did commerce in 11th and 12th so that it’s not too hard and I did science in open schooling, while playing cricket,” said Agarwal.

The Mayank Agarwal story

From fascination for aeroplanes to playing for India, @mayankcricket on his journey to earn the Test whites

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— BCCI (@BCCI) January 4, 2019

The 27-year-old spoke about the moment when head coach Ravi Shastri told him that he will be making his debut in the Melbourne Test.

“Ravi sir had come and told me that I’ve to prepared, I’m going to get a game. Then for 2-5 seconds, I was quiet. This was something I was waiting for, but to make a debut in MCG is something grand. I was very happy to make my debut in Melbourne,” said Agarwal.

Maynak Agarwal revealed what Virat Kohli told him while presenting the Test cap.

“Virat said while giving me the cap that bigger the occassion, bigger the opportunity, so soak it in and it’s a great chance for you to add to the team’s success. I was very nervous, I had a lot of emotions. I was okay until I reached the boundary line, but once I crossed it, I had a lot of emotions running through me. Then I saw the big crowd and realised that I was in the middle of something big,” said Agarwal.

First Published: Jan 04, 2019 19:38 IST