Mayank Agarwal is grateful for KL Rahul's help on the Australia tour

India may have finally cracked the code of finding a reliable opening batsman for their overseas tours. Karnataka’s Mayank Agarwal had to line-up in the queue for his chance to play for the national team and when he did get the opportunity he made sure it counts. Agarwal credited teammate KL Rahul for a promising start to his international career.

The 27-year-old who opened with Rahul in the last Test at the SCG got there on the back of been scoring heavily in the domestic circuit, having set that stage on fire. He was picked in the squad for the Test series against the Windies last year only to remain on the sidelines as Prithvi Shaw got the nod ahead of him and impressed everyone with his flamboyant batting.

Agarwal mentioned how statemate Rahul helped him to negate the Australian bowling attack. He also claimed how the bowlers were hostile and he got Rahul’s help on the areas they would pitch the ball in and the tactics they would use to unsettle the batsmen.

KL helped Agarwal with tactics

“We are very good friends. KL spoke to me when we went out for a coffee. He spoke to me, told me things that the Australian attack would look to do and this could be their plan. He identified the areas they would bowl. He gave me an outline of how they would target me. Having played international cricket, he gave me a good clue as to what would happen out at the centre,” Agarwal said as quoted by Times Now.

The selectors made a bold move by opting for a new opening combination mid-way in the series, following an injury to Shaw and abysmal performances from KL Rahul and Murali Vijay in the first two Tests. As it happened, Agarwal got his opportunity at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on the Boxing Day and he scored 76 on debut from 161 deliveries.

He followed up with yet another half-century in the fourth Test at the SCG as India created history by winning their first ever Test series on the Australian soil.

[interaction id=”5c349c39a09b671d6f3f7af8″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from Australia vs India series, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.