Avesh Khan’s all-round show propelled India to an emphatic 82-run victory in the opening game of the U19 Tri- Series against Bangladesh on Friday. After staying unbeaten on 25 from 29 balls, the pacer finished with figures of 6-3-4-4 in the low-scoring game at the Jadavpur University Campus, Kolkata. Defending 159 after opting to bat first, India bowled Bangladesh out for 76 in just 22 overs. India now have five points and will face Afghanistan U19 in the second match on Saturday.
The 18-year-old from Madhya Pradesh has represented India in the 2014 U19 Cricket World Cup and also in the Asian Cricket Council Under-19s Asia Cup last year.
Avesh, who made his first-class debut in the 2014-15 season, has also played five Ranji Trophy matches. The youngster has been under the tutelage of Amay Khurasiya for the last four years. “He has an academy and I practice there. He guides me about everything,” the youngster told bcci.tv.
“It’s been five years since I have been playing professional cricket. I used to play tennis-ball cricket first. My friends and relatives were impressed and were of the opinion that I should play club cricket. I did that and it has proved to be helpful,” he had told before of the series.
“My strength is the out-swinging delivery with the new ball, and I bowl at a good pace. And in the latter stages I bowl off-cutters, yorkers and the slower bouncers,” the first year B.Com student elaborated.
“I have good pace and if I can swing the ball with that, then my tally of wickets would increase. What I have to do is bowl in the right areas and get the lengths right.”
In the recently concluded U19 Challenger Trophy (one-day matches), he finished as the highest wicket taker with ten wickets in three matches which included two four-wicket hauls. In the U23 Col. CK Nayudu Trophy (four-day matches), he collected 15 wickets in the first two games.
He was picked in the Ranji Trophy squad as well, but is yet to play a match this season. He played in the Under-23 tournaments since already one fast bowler was there.
While talking about his experience in the domestic one-day trophy which provided a platform for the young guns to display their skills and earn call-ups to the junior national team, Avesh said, “It is a very good platform for a youngster because the selectors were there to watch along with Rahul (Dravid) Sir (coach).”
More significantly, he pointed out that it provided an opportunity to play with the white ball. “The World Cup will be played with the white ball and this tournament was also played with the white ball. For the first time, I played with white ball in U19 matches. So this is a good opportunity for a youngster to prepare for white-ball cricket as it is different from playing with the red ball. It helps one understand where one can improve with the white ball. I learnt a lot from the tournament.”
The Challenger Trophy also gave him another opportunity to learn from the former India captain. Speaking about the inputs he received from Dravid, he said, “I had met him during the camp (prior to the Challenger Trophy). He had seen my bowling then as well, but this time he called me. We spoke about getting better. He told me I was doing well with the new ball and need to get better at bowling the slower yorker. He boosted my confidence.”
