Former India bowler Irfan Pathan feels that Avesh Khan should be receiving the backing of captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid, adding that Mohammed Siraj also succeeded because he had the faith of former skipper Virat Kohli.
Irfan Pathan Backs Avesh Khan
Team India ended its limited-overs season on a high with a third-successive 3-0 series win in T20Is last week against Sri Lanka.
Since Rohit Sharma took over the full-time role as the captain of the Indian T20I side in November, India registered clean-sweep wins against New Zealand, West Indies, and Sri Lanka (all at home).
In addition to the victories, the side also provided opportunities to a number of youngsters – specifically in the T20Is as a host of senior players were either injured or rested.
Avesh made his international debut earlier this month during a T20I against the West Indies and performed impressively in the game against Sri Lanka, where he registered figures of 2/23 in four overs.
“Backing is very important for every player because when you play in international cricket, you have more bad days than good days,” Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports.
“When you have those bad days, it is important that your captain and the team management backs you. When we talk about Mohammed Siraj, Virat Kohli backed him a lot. I would go to the extent of saying that Kohli should be credited for the confidence with which Siraj bowls in international cricket. So yes, players need that backing. And I believe Avesh Khan should receive the same backing as Siraj because he has that talent,” Pathan said.
Among bowlers, players like Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, and Avesh Khan were given opportunities in the T20Is in addition to senior pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, and Deepak Chahar.
During the final T20I of the series against Sri Lanka, India opted to rest almost all the senior bowlers as Siraj and Avesh led the pace attack with Harshal, while young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi replaced Yuzvendra Chahal.
Avesh will be next seen in action during the 2021 Indian Premier League, where he became the most expensive uncapped player at the mega auction earlier this month (he hadn’t made his international debut then) at INR 10.75 crore. He will be appearing for the Lucknow Super Giants.
