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Cricket Players'He has lot of talent. Only IPL shouldn't be his goal': Gambhir's strong message for 25-year-old pacer ahead of T20 WC
The recently-concluded 15th edition of the lucrative T20 tournament unearthed many youngsters including a string of fast bowlers.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) ended last month with tournament newbies Gujarat Titans hammering Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final. The world witnessed a new IPL champion, while the expanded 10-team competition remained true to its 'where talent meets opportunity' watchword. The 15th edition of the lucrative T20 tournament unearthed many youngsters including a string of fast bowlers. Umran Malik made waves with his blistering pace and the Lucknow Super Giants pairing of Avesh and Mohsin Khan also earned plaudits.
Avesh, who currently is a part of the India squad for the Twenty20 assignment against South Africa, picked up 18 wickets for Lucknow. He went wicketless in the series opener, conceding 35 runs in his four overs at the Arun Jaitely Stadium, Delhi on Thursday. But Lucknow mentor Gautam Gambhir feels the young quick can prosper with experience. The former India opener wants Avesh to set sights on this year's T20 World Cup in Australia.
"This bowler has a lot of talent, he has pace, a big heart to bowl the difficult overs. But I will want to see him improve further in every match. He is a young bowler, only the IPL should not be his goal, the T20 World Cup is coming ahead," said Gambhir in a discussion on Star Sports.
"He has the attitude that a fast bowler should have and the most important thing is that he is still young and wants to learn. If he continues to work hard, he can become an excellent bowler, not only in T20s but in all three formats," he further added.
Gambhir has never been the one to mince his words and he lauded Avesh for his ability to bowl in all three phases of a T20 game. The Madhya Pradesh bowler conceded 15 in his first over versus South Africa but gave away just 20 runs in his remaining three.
"That ability comes with pace. If you have the pace, then you feel confident in all three phases. We have seen a lot of bowlers who do not have the pace that Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna and Jasprit Bumrah have, then you have to give them the extra protection."
Gambhir also talked about the competition between Avesh and Mohsin in the Lucknow camp. He believes team competition leads to players being pushed to perform. Relatively inexperienced Mohsin stood out for Lucknow with 14 wickets in nine IPL matches at an economy rate of under six.
"It is a good thing if one player pushes the other, then you can bring out a better performance from the other player, which you want. Your squad is a good one when every player is pushed, the other player comes and pushes you and Mohsin Khan did that exceptionally well," explained Gambhir.
