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Career

U-19 days

Ruchir Mishra, Nov 16, 2019: The Times of India

In contrast to his bold strokemaking in the Test arena these days, Mayank Agrawal was quite the shy kid during his days as an under-19 cricketer for India. While he was an assured cricketer, he just wouldn’t open up or communicate. “He used to be very shy. You needed to push him to talk. While most of us would have some story or the other to tell, Mayank would just smile and listen,” Chhattisgarh captain and former Madhya Pradesh skipper Harpreet Singh, his former India under-19 teammate, recalled while speaking to TOI after Mayank’s monumental double ton against Bangladesh on Friday.

Apart from his shyness, there was another quality about Mayank that endeared him to his teenaged teammates: he was extremely forgetful, so much so that he was nicknamed ‘Ghajini’, from the popular Aamir Khan- starrer in which a tycoon suffers short-term memory loss.

Harpreet recalled a funny incident during the U-19 South Africa tour in 2009. Chandrakant Pandit, then the coach of India’s under-19 team, had given the responsibility of the ‘ball box’ to Agrawal.

“Mayank forgot to carry the box during one of the practice sessions. He was so scared the whole while. We named him ‘Ghajini’ because of his habit of forgetting little things and then suddenly recalling them after 15-20 minutes. It was so funny,” he said.

“He always had that class about him...those flowing drives and the way he would dance down the wicket to hit spinners. He was always very aggressive on the field, but totally opposite off it. We had a fabulous group... Mayank, KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh, Jaidev Undakat, Ashok Menaria, Manan Sharma, Harshal Patel. None of us played selfish cricket and that’s the reason most of us are still doing well,” Harpreet said.

Harpreet recently met Mayank during Vijay Hazare Trophy in Bengaluru. “He hasn’t changed a bit. He has become more confident while talking. He now presents himself very well, which you expect from someone playing for the country. I am sure, he will have a long international career,” he signed off. Needless to say, ‘Ghajini’ Mayank also won’t forget his second double ton in Tests in a hurry!

YEAR-WISE DEVELOPMENTS

2017-18: most runs in an Indian domestic season

Hindol Basu, March 31, 2018: The Times of India

‘Don’t want to be a one-season wonder’

With 2,232 runs under his belt in 2017-18, Mayank Agarwal holds the record for most runs in an Indian domestic season. The Karnataka opener shattered many batting records in domestic cricket but still didn’t get a call-up to the national team. That disappointment aside, the 27-yearold is now hoping a successful IPL will get him that elusive India spot. Kings XI Punjab – Mayank’s IPL team – would wish that his domestic form continues. The man himself doesn’t want to be stated as a one-season wonder.

“For me as a player, one of the targets would be to succeed in this year’s IPL,” Mayank told TOI on Friday. “I don’t want to be called a one-season wonder. You want to get better with every season. I don’t want anyone to point fingers at me and say that he didn’t perform after one season.”

Kings XI have a number of openers this time and Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, KL Rahul, Karun Nair and Mayank will all be vying for the two spots up the batting order.

Mayank, though, is ready to bat in the middle-order too. “My aim is to add value to the side, and it doesn’t only have to be as an opener. If playing in the middle-order helps the team, so be it. Cricket is not an individual sport, it is a team sport. The team management decides what the role of a player should be; and, at the end of the day, as a player you have to go out there and perform,” said the prolific right-hander.

Mayank is also looking to pick the brains of Kings XI’s team director Virender Sehwag. Both Sehwag and Mayank have an aggressive batting style and inputs from the dashing former India opener will help the Karnataka lad go a long way.

“He (Sehwag) is my favourite cricketer. As a kid, I was always fascinated by the way he took the attack to the opposition and the way he dominated. What I would like to learn from him (Sehwag) is his mindset while tacking various situations,” said Mayank. “The way he used to approach high-profile games, the way he handled spinners, and various pressure situations – all that I would like to learn. Besides him, I would also like to learn as much as possible from other stalwarts like Gayle, Finch and Ashwin.”

Mayank also hoped that Ravichandran Ashwin’s captaincy would bring the best out in him. “I am looking forward to playing under Ashwin’s captaincy, and evolve under his leadership. At the end of the day, performance will be the key and I am hoping I can put in a good show.”

2018: A good year

Mayank Agarwal, as in 2018
From: Shashank Shekhar, December 20, 2018: The Times of India

See graphic:

Mayank Agarwal, as in 2018

2018- Dec 21

Dec 4, 2021: The Times of India

New Delhi: Delhi High Court asked Delhi government to refrain from taking any action in connection with a ban on cross-gender massages in the city, observing that such services don’t simply indicate the existence of sexual activity. The remark was made by Justice Rekha Palli who was told by senior counsel Rahul Mehra, appearing for Delhi government, that the policy was framed after due deliberation to stop sexual activities at such centres. The court, which was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the prohibition on cross-gender massages, was urged by the senior advocate to allow the policy, which has now taken the form of a guideline.

He asked the court to allow the policy to remain in force for some time and highlighted that cross-gender massages are not permitted at several places, including five-star hotels.

However, the judge observed, “Just because it is a cross-gender massage, doesn’t mean that it is sexual activity.” “You ask your people to hold their hands. I’m not saying that illegal activities you shouldn’t stop,” she added.

Delhi government counsel said that the authorities will only act against illegal activities. The court adjourned hearing on the petitions till later this month.

In September, one of the petitioners, Association of Wellness Ayurveda & Spa, had told the court that the ban on cross-gender massages was unconstitutional for being in violation of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution and assuming prostitution to be only in the “heterosexual domain” is illogical. PTI