Mayank Agarwal hits the reset button to focus firmly on Karnataka

Mayank Agarwal isn't focusing as much on a Test comeback as he is on emulating the kind of Ranji Trophy season he had in 2017-18, when he topped the charts with 1160 runs in 13 innings.Agarwal isn't part of India's Test tour of Bangladesh, having endured a slump in form over the past six months. This has coincided with Shubman Gill and Abhimanyu Easwaran doing everything they can to impress the selectors. Added to that is the fact that he's also been released by his IPL franchise, Punjab Kings, whom he captained earlier this year.It's in the midst of all this that Agarwal has been handed Karnataka's captaincy. The team reached the knockouts of both T20 and 50-overs competition. Now, he's set to lead them in the Ranji Trophy, replacing his contemporary Manish Pandey, who was removed from the top job following a mediocre 2021-22 first-class season where Karnataka lost out in the quarter-finals."I've been working on emulating what I did in 2017-18, when I had that good season," Agarwal said in Bengaluru, ahead of Karnataka's Ranji opener against Services on Tuesday. "I've gone back a little bit, looked at those videos, gone through those game plans and worked around that."For me, that result or the end goal [India selection] will take care of itself. I want to look at my processes, areas I need to improve on and what I need to do to keep performing the way I was doing. And I back myself to deliver those performances."Agarwal has a strong batting line-up to lean on, with all of R Samarth, Devdutt Padikkal and Pandey in the mix. The only notable absentee is Karun Nair, who has fallen out of favour with the selectors following a bad run of form that stretches back three seasons. However, there were times during the last campaign that he seemed to be rediscovering his touch again.The selectors have rewarded 22-year old Nikin Jose for his Vijay Hazare Trophy form - he was Karnataka's leading run-getter, and Vishal Onat, who has had a stellar run in age-group cricket. One of them could well be handed a debut cap on Tuesda