Mayank Agarwal: Punjab Kings captaincy has been a 'great learning experience'

Mayank Agarwal has had an interesting start to his captaincy at Punjab Kings.

The franchise set the tone early in the IPL 2022 season for what could possibly be a template for T20 cricket in the future – power hitters throughout the playing XI. Their line-up of Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Shah Rukh Khan, Odean Smith – for a period – and later Jonny Bairstow signalled an intention of not taking the foot off the pedal at any point in the innings.

But after winning three out of their first five games, the strategy began to unravel. Captain Agarwal moved himself down the order to allow Bairstow to open with the in-form Shikhar Dhawan. The Englishman was in his element once again, hitting two fifties in his last three games. But Punjab had fallen behind by that time.

Punjab Kings have only a slim chance of qualifying for the playoffs due to a negative net run rate. The can reach a maximum of 14 points if they win their final league phase game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday. Three other teams have 16 points or more, while Delhi Capitals are already on 14 points with a much superior net run rate.

Even so, Agarwal is content with the way the season has turned out.

"There is an emphasis on the brand of cricket we want to play – an aggressive brand of cricket. I think we have done well. It's not a very easy strategy to implement. When you play that kind of cricket, you understand what the setbacks you can have are," Agarwal told The National.

Want to see a true team man/leader? Look no further than Mayank Agarwal, sacrificing the opening position at which he has been hugely successful to offer Bairstow the best chance to flourish. So along with ‘well played’ Jonny, let’s also say well done Mayank!

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