Pace bowler Avesh Khan proved to be one of the main reasons why India defeated West Indies in the fourth T20I in Florida on August 6 and took a 3-1 lead in the 5-match series. He picked 2/17 and was named the Player of the Match for his efforts.
After a couple of matches in which he went for runs and couldn’t quite pick wickets, many experts and former cricketers expected Avesh to be replaced in the Indian playing XI. However, captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid showed immense faith in his abilities.
Khan said he has received an “enormous amount of confidence” from Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid when he was struggling to come to grips with the strong wind and short boundaries.
“They have given me an enormous amount of confidence, despite the fact I did not perform well in my last two games. However, Rohit bhai and Rahul Sir’s support have given me the confidence both on and off the field… and told me that rough patches do happen,” Khan told reporters after the match.
He had gone for 54 runs on his ODI debut in Trinidad, while registered figures of 1/31 and 0/47 in the two previous T20Is in Basseterre.
“They also backed me by saying that average performance in two matches do not make anyone a bad bowler, especially in T20s, given how the format is. I was backed the same way in this match too and I am happy that I performed well. They provided me necessary support during the South Africa tour as well.
When a player is constantly encouraged by the captain and coach to perform well, it automatically motivates him to give his best. Rohit bhai is a fantastic leader. Not only me, he always backs and supports everyone in the team,” Khan added.
The pacer, who hails from Indore, also talked about what changes he made to his game plan which helped him turn things around in the fourth T20I.
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“From the very onset, the aim was to bowl in the right areas. Both the wicket and the conditions were different here from St Lucia where we had to deal with sticky wicket. I was bowling against the wind and turned to the slowers as well to unsettle the West Indies batters. Fortunately, I got both the wickets off the slowers which were Rohit bhai’s idea,” Khan said.
Khan stated that Paddy Upton, who recently joined the team as its mental conditioning coach, pushed him to get back into form.
“He (Paddy Upton) just asked me to move on from the past two matches and focus on the current (4th T20I) game. He instructed me to think of one ball at a time and give my 100 percent. The pressure is always there when you are representing your country. I am currently focusing on improving my performance and not on the World Cup. The selection process is not in my hands but, maybe, my performance is. I am not thinking of anything else right now but the final T20I,” Avesh signed off.
(PTI inputs)
