Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) mentor and batting coach Dinesh Karthik has shed light on the return of batter Mayank Agarawal to the franchise, citing his connection with the state and match-winning abilities with the bat as key factors in his comeback. The news was revealed in a video titled ‘E03 RCB’s road to Finale’ on the team’s official YouTube channel, as reported by The News Mill.
Mayank was signed by RCB earlier in May after Devdutt Padikkal, the team’s designated number three, was ruled out due to an injury. Mayank was brought back to the team for Rs one crore. With 247 runs in 10 innings and two half-centuries as a number three, Padikkal had been a crucial part of the line-up. According to Dinesh Karthik, when a player gets ruled out, the team tries to replace them as best they can. “When somebody gets ruled out, it’s obviously unfortunate, but you try to replace that player as best you can,” Karthik said. “Devdutt’s injury happened, and then there is a process to figure out when he will be ready. When we knew he was not going to be ready, we went through the scouting process,” as quoted by RCB in the video.
Karthik further elaborated on the scouting process, stating that it is a thorough and well-structured procedure. “The scouting process is very strong. Malolan Rangarajan heads it and one of Mo Bobat’s greatest strengths was how well he scouted for the English team,” he said. “The process we go through is quite fascinating. When Malolan goes through the names we want, it’s very close to how we look at players and what we do, and then the whole group sits and decides,” as reported by The News Mill.
According to Karthik, Mayank was the obvious choice for the team. “It was obvious that Mayank is the right choice. We know what he has done before. He is a local boy as well, and he has won so many games with the bat. It almost became a simple choice once that name was given,” he concluded, as per The News Mill.
Mayank has made a significant impact in IPL 2025, scoring 71 runs in three games at an average of 35.50 with a strike rate of over 154. He played a vital 41* in a partnership with Jitesh Sharma during their final league stage game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), which guided RCB to a top-two finish. He also played a cameo of 19 during a 102-run chase against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier one, sealing RCB’s final spot, according to The News Mill.
Mayank started his IPL career with RCB from 2011-13, scoring 433 runs in 24 innings with a fifty. Since then, he has played for Punjab Kings (PBKS), Delhi Capitals (DC), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rising Pune Supergiant (RPG). He has scored 2,732 runs in 130 IPL matches at an average of 22.96, with a century and 13 fifties, as reported by The News Mill. The final between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru is set for Tuesday at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. This is RCB’s fourth final ever and PBKS’s second final and their first in 11 years. The final at Ahmedabad on Tuesday is all set to be an epic clash as one of these sides will get their first-ever IPL title ever.
The News Mill reported that Dinesh Karthik made these comments in a video titled ‘E03 RCB’s road to Finale’ on RCB’s official YouTube channel.
