Mayank Agarwal has been in and out of the Indian Test team since making his debut in 2018. The right-handed opening batter had another opportunity to prove his worth, especially in the absence of KL Rahul, who is currently out of the team due to a hamstring injury. In the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka, Mayank opened the innings alongside skipper Rohit Sharma. Despite getting a good start, Mayank could only conjure 33 runs in the first innings.
As a result, former India opener Gautam Gambhir wasn't too impressed with the batter.
Gambhir said that Mayank should've scored big, especially considering that his place in the Test team is not secured.
"Apart from Lasith Embuldeniya and Lahiru Kumara, there were not too many bowlers who could threaten Mayank, especially at the start of the innings. So, he'll be obviously disappointed. He could've gone on to make a big one. You know that your place is not secure when KL Rahul comes back. So, all you can do is score as many runs as you can," Gambhir said on Star Sports during the Lunch show.
Mayank, who hit five attractive boundaries in the first session, was trapped in front by Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya in the 19th over.
Rohit and Mayank had given India a solid start, adding 52 runs for the first wicket.
However, Lahiru Kumara gave Sri Lanka the first breakthrough, dismissing Rohit on the penultimate delivery of the 10th over.
Virat Kohli and Hanuma Vihari then added 70 runs before both of them fell in quick succession.