Looking forward to give my best: Mayank Agarwal

Bengaluru, September 30: The non-inclusion of Mayank Agarwal in India squad despite scoring tons of runs at various levels - state and India A - has been the hot topic in cricketing circles for over a year. But on Saturday (September 30) his long wait ended when the national selectors named him in the squad to face West Indies in a two-Test series.

"It's a great honour to get a chance to play for your country. I am looking forward to give my best to the team when my turn comes," said the 27-year-old Mayank, who opens for Karnataka.

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Mayank had to wait for his turn to get the India call and has seen his India A teammates Prithvi Shaw and G Hanuma Vihari getting picked ahead of him. But he was not unduly worried.

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"My focus has been to play cricket at whatever opportunity I get. I am very happy with the way I am batting this season so far. It's all about making opportunity count and using the form that you are in. I was not really worried about the wait because I told myself whatever has to happen it will happen and you need to stay in the present," he said.

Deeply humbled with all the wishes that have been pouring in. Will continue to persevere, work hard and make everyone who has supported me through this journey proud. It’s an absolute honor to have a chance to represent my country. Thank you so much. 🙏🏼

— Mayank Agarwal (@mayankcricket) September 29, 2018

Mayank also took to social media to express his happiness. "Deeply humbled with all the wishes that have been pouring in. Will continue to persevere, work hard and make everyone who has supported me through this journey proud. It's an absolute honor to have a chance to represent my country. Thank you so much," he later scribbled on his Twitter handle.

A batsman always perceived to be suited for shorter formats because of his aggressive ways, Mayank break away in the last season when he scored 1168 runs in the Ranji Trophy alone. He was confident that the approach would bring him success in longer format as well.

"I have seen players like Virender Sehwag, Matthew Hayden and David Warner play in all formats. What I have noticed that they don't really change their game - yes they do make adjustments to suit the longer format. But their basic game and plan remain the same. So, I believe the basics remain the same whichever format you play and it's all about how do you read the situation and how do you adapt your game plan. I am able to do that this season and I think that made the difference," he had said.