Indian pacer Avesh Khan recalled Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant’s words during Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 that got him going in the tournament.
Rishabh Pant impressed many with his captaincy in the IPL 2021. The wicketkeeper-batter was handed the leadership responsibilities after regular skipper Shreyas Iyer was initially ruled out of the marquee tournament due to a shoulder injury.
Pant continued to lead the side when Iyer returned for the second phase of IPL 14. Under him, Delhi Capitals finished the league stage at the top of the table. They were then knocked out in Qualifier 2.
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Rishabh Pant was applauded by many fans and pundits for his leadership skills. He also gave the opportunities to young pacer Avesh Khan, who repaid his faith. The pacer had a brilliant campaign in IPL 2021 with the ball. He was the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 24 wickets to his name.
In an interaction with veteran Journalist Boria Majumdar on his show Backstage with Boria, Avesh Khan recalled his early days with Delhi Capitals when he didn’t get much chances to play.
He praised Ricky Ponting and Rishabh Pant for showing faith in him and recalled DC skipper's words, that were ‘wonderful’ for him.
"IPL 2021 was wonderful for me because I ended as the second-highest wicket-taker. Before that, I was with the Delhi Capitals for three years but I did not get many opportunities. In 2 years, I had played just 2 matches, and I couldn't get a chance to show my talent.
"But last year, when Rabada and Nortje were unavailable for the first two matches and Ishant picked up an injury, so he too could not play," Avesh Khan said.
"Ricky Ponting showed faith in me and as did Rishabh. He backed me a lot and said to me 'You have only these two matches to prove yourself. After that you’ll have to create a place of your own with your own efforts,” he said.
Avesh recently created history in the IPL 2022 auction. The right-arm pacer became the most expensive uncapped player ever as he was acquired by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a whopping amount of INR 10 crores.
(Backstage with Boria inputs)
