Hyderabad opener Tanmay Agarwal has had prolific Ranji seasons back-to-back: 934 runs in 12 innings at an average of 77.83 in the 2024-25 season, and 765 from eight innings at 95.62 in the Plate Group in the 2023-24 season.
Seven of his 17 First-Class centuries, in a decade-long career, have come in the last two Ranji seasons. Adopting the take-it-easy policy has done the trick, he said on Saturday.
“A bit of luck and the change in my mindset – the way I approach the game – have made a difference. Earlier, I used to be very serious; as in, if I was not getting the desired result, I would be very serious and harsh on myself. But nowadays, I have started taking it easy, because cricket is a game, ultimately. It isn’t life and death for me. I used to take it like that before, but now it’s eased out. It’s just a game. I make a mistake, I try not to repeat it,” he said at the Guru Nanak College ground here.
The 30-year-old said that batting legend VVS Laxman helped him by providing clarity and confidence.
“I spoke to him in 2022, I think, after I was not picked for the IPL. He gave me a little clarity. I told him what I was going through. He said that it is pretty normal. I think I was 27-and-a-half. So, he was like, people (around that age) pretty much go through the same phase. He gave me confidence, he gave me a (road)map. Basically, he told me, ‘You can do this, you can do that.’ He suggested a Tony Robbins (popular motivational speaker) book. It helped me,” he said.
Agarwal just doesn’t score hundreds now; he scores daddy hundreds. He scored the fastest First-Class triple century (366) in 2024, and had scores of 173, 159, and 177 last Ranji season.
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“So, that’s one thing I worked on, because all my hundreds earlier were just 120s and 130s. So, I had it in my mind to make big hundreds. I worked on my fitness for the last two years, so that I don’t get tired after scoring a hundred.
“Yo-Yo score was up drastically. And the 2 km time trial was also better. So, that helped me achieve my big hundreds,” he said.
As he looks set to make his Duleep Trophy debut, having been picked in the South Zone squad, he’s had the right preparation, scoring a 127-ball 163 in a 292-run chase against Punjab in the first round of the All India Buchi Babu invitational cricket tournament here this week.
Published on Aug 23, 2025
