It was about six months ago that Team India had to travel for a tough Test series against England and the wise men of Indian cricket didn't even think it right to consider Mayank Agarwal worthy enough to be in the 17-member squad.

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This, despite Agarwal amassing 1,160 runs in 13 innings at an average of 105.4 (including five centuries, 2 half-centuries and a triple ton in Ranji trophy alone) in the 2017-18 domestic season.

And if his run feast of 772 runs at an average of 90.3 (3 tons and 4 half centuries) in Vijay Hazare trophy along with 214 in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy is included, his total tally in the Indian domestic season stood at 2,146.

The result was in front of everyone. Team India's first-choice opener, Murali Vijay, was dropped from the squad mid-series in England. His partner, Shikhar Dhawan, lost his place from the Test squad after failing in six innings. And the third-choice contingency opener, KL Rahul, ended up playing four of the five Tests of a series India were thoroughly beaten by a not-that-strong English side.

Even upon return, the Indian team management including captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri chose young Prithvi Shaw, and not Agarwal, to open the innings with KL Rahul against below par West Indies.

It became one of the most debatable selections, many asking what was the point in grinding it out in the Ranji Trophy or other domestic tournaments for several years if Shaw was to be preferred over the seasoned Agarwal.

Shaw got off to a dream start to his career, hitting a century on debut, and Agarwal kept waiting for 'that' call, which began to appear like a bit of a mystery.

But as luck would have it, Agarwal was rushed to Australia after an ankle injury ruled Shaw out of the series.

A jet-lagged Agarwal hardly had time to get acclimatised to conditions Down Under. But he knew for sure that he may not get many chances like the other chosen ones at this level. Having known the character of the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground wicket, he wold've expected what was in the offing in the Boxing Day Test.

Solid debut, technique

In the eight-decade old history of Indian cricket, this was probably the first time at the MCG that Team India fielded two completely inexperienced Test openers.

And the man who was given charge of laying a solid foundation for this touring side was none other than 27-year-old Agarwal, who had only a make-shift opener Hanuma Vihari to give company in the middle. Both, with just two Tests amongst them (all those to Vihari), were thrown in the deep end of the sea to tackle the experienced Australian attack on the first morning of the Test.

Their first task was to stand up and get counted, unlike their precedents (Rahul and Vijay) who wilted swiftly on foreign soil.

Agarwal had done all that, but in second grade international and domestic tournaments. And the Karnataka man displayed the same gritty temperament and solid technique at the MCG to give India a near perfect start to the Test. In the process, his 76 on the first innings would certainly go down in Test history as one of the best innings on debut by any Indian outside the country in the times to come.

Agarwal provided India a platform — even though he was unlucky to have missed out on a most deserving ton — that eventually may prove to be a turning point in the ultimate result of the four-Test series.

The prowess of Agarwal's technical superiority was even more apparent during India's second innings, when all the top batsmen failed to negotiate the uneven bounce.

Agarwal was at ease from the very first ball he faced during a 102-ball stay for his 42 in the second dig. His defense was impecabble and his ability to leave the moving ball brought back the days of Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid. Mind you, Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma feel like the pack of cards around him.

Stop experimentation

The big question now is that who will be held responsible for making this Karnataka opener wait for nearly 18 months for his Test debut.

Till a week ago, India's Test openers were more of a threat to their own team than to the opposition. It was the failed opening partnerships at the top — between Rahul to Vijay to Shikhar Dhawan — which cost India series losses in South Africa and England. In fact, Rahul and Vijay can go down as the worst opening pair in Test history — scoring just 173 runs in 13 innings at an average of 15.

The only time Rahul-Vijay pair survived more than 10 overs on overseas tour was at Adelaide in the ongoing series, totalling 63, for a change.

Now when India have a chance to win a series Down Under, it would majorly be because of Agarwal's arrival on the scene and not because of chief coach Shastri's oft-repeated claims of this current Team India being the best ever touring side in last 15 years.

One would expect that after Shaw's return at the top, the duo of Shastri and Kohli will stop experimenting with any other names.

AGARWAL IN 2017/18 RANJI SEASON

Innings: 13Average: 105.4100s: 550s: 2Runs: 1,160

N ZONE

2,146 No. of runs Agarwal has scored in the 2017-18 domestic season (Ranji: 1,160; Vijay Hazare: 772; Syed Mushtaq Ali: 214)