Avesh Khan seeks MS Dhoni's guidance to better his arsenal

The right-arm pacer is one of the best emerging talents of the country.

Avesh first impressed with his pace and velocity during the U-19 World Cup in 2016 | Getty

One of the net bowlers for the Indian squad during the recently concluded Asia Cup in UAE and an emerging talent from the domestic scene, Avesh Khan says that he has learnt a lot by spending time and interacting with the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Having been challenged by him in the nets and then observing him closely while in the delivery stride, the wise old man of Indian Cricket showered appreciation and shared words of wisdom, which Avesh says, was about enhancing his skillset and learning the art of bowling on flat decks.

"I was bowling with the conventional grips for outswing and inswing. Mahi bhai was watching and he told me to bowl with a scrambled seam on wickets that didn’t offer much help to fast bowlers," Avesh revealed to Indian Express on Sunday, November 11, "He explained it thoroughly that on docile pitches if the ball lands on the seam there would be little seam movement. But if leather hits the deck, the ball might stop a bit and the batsman could mistime and hit it in the air."

"He (Dhoni) also said on pitches that didn’t assist fast bowlers, focus should be on dismissals like bowled, leg-before and catches in cover and mid-wicket," he further informed, "Caught behind or catches to slips would rarely happen. He advised me to hit consistently on a particular area and the importance of bowling dots balls to put pressure on the batsmen,"

Avesh, one of the brightest prospect to have come across over the last few seasons, featured for Delhi Daredevils in this year's Indian Premier League and is currently busy gearing up for Madhya Pradesh's important Ranji Trophy encounter against Bengal. The 21-year-old feels that he is more ready than before to deal with the challenge of a full first-class season.

First seen during the U-19 World Cup in 2016, Avesh has also had the privilege to have played under the guidance and mentorship of the kind, giving and heartwarming lovable, Rahul Dravid.

"We were fortunate to have Rahul sir," he said, "The real education was the meeting that he had with us after we lost the final. ‘This is not a very big thing. In fact, hard work begins now,’ Rahul sir had said. The meeting taught us about the importance of putting things in perspective,” and signed off.

Avesh dreams big and wants to play for the country, as soon as possible.

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 13 Nov, 2018

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