Mayank Agarwal has been in scintillating form of late. After scoring the first triple century of his career in the Ranji Trophy, he continued his prolific run of form and took Karnataka to their third Vijay Hazare Trophy victory in five seasons. He scored three centuries and four fifties in the tournament at an astonishing average of 76.46. Along the way, he also became the highest scorer in a single Indian domestic season.

His attacking style and ability to clear the boundaries at will has many observers comparing him to one of India’s most successful opening batsman, Virender Sehwag. Now, after he showcased his ability to settle down and play a long innings after getting a start, the comparisons have become even stronger. Agarwal, however, prefers to steer clear of such comparisons and instead acknowledges that he still has a long way to go to make a similar mark to the big-hitting Indian opener.

“I am not a man of comparison and I would not want to be compared with him because he is a legend,” said Agarwal while speaking exclusively to kxip.in.

Agarwal has, in the past, mentioned Viru-paaji to be his batting idol many times and now he will be under the aggressive batsman’s mentorship. For Agarwal, it was like a dream come true.

“For me, watching him bat and dominate the game was something that I loved. Being in KXIP, I want to keep picking his brain. I have heard a lot of stories about how mentally strong he is and how he enjoys the game. I have had a few conversations with him and those have really helped me in my game,” said Agarwal.

Even though there are a number of aspects of Viru-paaji’s game that Agarwal looks to learn from, his ability to dismiss the tweakers to the boundary with ease tops his list.

“I just wish I could bat like him. I think the way he tackles spinners is something I would really like to learn from him,” Agarwal said.