Aspirational Agarwal takes the inspirational route

Mayank Agarwal took his time finding appropriate words to describe what he is going through after being ignored by the Indian management for the two-Test series against Bangladesh, after being dropped from captaincy by the Punjab Super Kings, and after enduring a lukewarm start to his domestic season with Karnataka.

But when it came to talking about his role as a leader of the State-side and the culture he wants to perpetuate, words laced with pride came easy.

"We have a duty to Karnataka cricket, and as a leader, it is my job to ensure we deliver," he starts. "We have not won the Ranji Trophy in a few years and that does not do justice to the kind of talent we have on our side. Most of the players in this side have either played for India and others are good enough to play at that level."

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"I genuinely feel confident about our chances this time because we have so much talent. More than that, I want to ensure that we bring back that culture of winning."

Agarwal recalls the glory days from nearly a decade ago when they won a double-treble to rule the domestic circuit and remembers how they used to walk onto the field with an air of confidence. Karnataka have since gone through a lean patch, at least in the red-ball format, and don't walk with that authority these days.

Since R Vinay Kumar's exit, they have employed a string of captains and new coaches to relive those halcyon days, but every move has come undone.

"Even if we don't win this season, I want to put things (culture) in place so that we will get there in the very near future. We have a lot of pride and we are playing a very aggressive brand of cricket, it's a lot like us from those winning years, and that's why I believe we can go the distance this time."

During the course of the conversation, it's evident that Agarwal prefers using timelines of success as reference points to work his way back into form. "I want to look at what I was doing during the 2017-18 season and recreate that form," he notes.

Agarwal had piled up an incredible 1160 runs at an average of 105.45 in Ranji Trophy, and backed that up with an equally impressive run in List A. His India Test call-up was a tad delayed but he made it in 2018 and has since averaged 41.33 runs in 21 games as an opener.

His positive state of mind was reflected in the run-spree of 2021 for Punjab in the Indian Premier League, but since then things haven't gone so well for the 31-year-old.

"Honestly, I have sleepless nights like anyone else. I do feel those lows from time to time, but I am a positive person and I don't let those negative emotions linger for too long," he says from the Karnataka team bus as they make their way to Goa for their third Ranji Trophy contest this season.

"I wake up knowing that I can change my luck. I can't keep thinking about what happened in the past, this is about the future. While I use the past to keep me grounded, I am always working towards a brighter future."

Agarwal introspects the nature of his recent failures but makes no bones about it, taking responsibility where he can and ignoring the outside noise when he can't.

"I am not afraid to fail," he says. "I firmly believe that in life everything is either a lesson or a blessing. I am just grateful for everything."

Yet another thing that his Karnataka team-mates can learn from their leader: attitude.