Rahul Dravid has always been very approachable, we could just pick up the phone and speak to him: Mayank Agarwal

Indian opener Mayank Agarwal said he is excited to work under Rahul Dravid, who has been appointed as the team’s head coach following the tenure-end of Ravi Shastri after the T20 World Cup 2021, where India could not move further than the Super12 stage. Dravid, who oversaw things at the National Cricket Academy Bangalore and Under-19 and A teams earlier, has already coached multiple players who are involved in the senior team.

The 47-year-old has his first assignment on cards as India hosts New Zealand for three T20Is, followed by two Tests. The T20I fixtures will be played in Jaipur (November 17), Ranchi (November 19) and Kolkata (November 21), while the Tests will be held in Kanpur (November 25-29) and Mumbai (December 3-7), the squad for which will be announced in the due course.

Agarwal, who is not a part of the 16-man T20I squad, is certain to be named for the two-Test series. The 30-year-old revealed how Dravid has been only a call away for him and other players ever since his India A days. “There are a few points that I would want to talk to him about and he has been approachable,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.

“And it is not only now, even before, when we were part of India A, we could just pick up the phone and speak to him and share what was on our mind. He is very approachable that way,” he added. “I am really looking forward to (the series) and I am really excited to be part of the team against New Zealand,” the 30-year-old said.

Agarwal, who had a sensational Indian Premier League 2021 where he amassed 441 runs at 40.09 and a strike rate of 140.44 with Punjab Kings, said that he is quite content with his current form. “I think, I was very happy with the way I have performed (in the IPL). I have really grown into the role that the team expected of me and I have been an aggressor upfront and whenever the opportunity presented; I looked to bat through the innings,” he added.