Mayank Agarwal welcomes baby boy with wife Aashita

India's Test specialist Mayank Agarwal and his wife Aashita Sood welcomed their first child- a baby boy. The couple shared this news on social media on Sunday, December 11. At the same time, Agarwal also mentioned that their baby was born on the 8^th of this month (Thursday) and the couple have named him ‘Aayansh’.

Notably, on June 4, 2018, Mayank and Aashita exchanged vows. Prior to the batter's proposal at the London Eye, the two had been dating for seven years. The two initially met at a Diwali celebration their parents hosted in Bengaluru.

Sharing the news on Instagram, Agarwal shared a picture of him and his better half Aashita holding their new-born baby. He wrote, “With our hearts full of gratitude, we introduce Aayansh. The first Ray of light, a part of US & a Gift of God. 08.12.2022."

Mayank Agarwal looks for new opportunities at IPL 2023

Meanwhile, the Punjab Kings have released Mayank Agarwal ahead of the upcoming IPL 2023 auction due to underwhelming performances in the 2022 season. The team even failed to make the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season.

Taking that into consideration, the India Test opener has registered for the IPL 2023 mini-auction at a base price of INR 1 Crore. The auction is set to take place at Kochi on December 23. Now, it remains to be seen which team will express interest in having him on board for the upcoming season.

The Punjab Kings had paid Agarwal a staggering INR 12 Crore for IPL 2022 and made him captain after KL Rahul decided to part ways with the franchise for better prospects. However, Mayank failed to impress both as a batter and a leader.

The 31-year-old could only manage to score 196 runs from 13 matches averaging 16.33 and a strike rate of 122.5 that included a solitary half-century. His 2022 season was a pale shadow of his purple patch during the 2020 and the 2021 editions where he had amassed 424 and 441 runs respectively.

Veteran India batter Shikhar Dhawan has been named the new PBKS skipper. Apart from Mayank Agarwal, the Mohali-based franchise also did not renew head coach Anil Kumble’s contract for the next season and parted ways with the legendary former spinner.