'We do understand Avesh’s talent' - Rohit Sharma hails Avesh Khan

Avesh Khan and Rohit Sharma

Young Indian right-arm seamer Avesh Khan showed signs of brilliance in the fourth T20 International against West Indies. The youngster was being criticised for his performance in the West Indies tour so far.

In the second and third T20 International, Avesh conceded runs at an economy of 13.3 and 15.7 respectively. There were questions raised over his selection in the Indian team for the upcoming T20I games.

However, skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid continued backing the youngster and gave him another chance to prove his worth. Avesh repaid the trust of the management by taking the Man of the Match award home during Saturday's match.

Sharma on the importance of game time for youngsters

The 25-year-old picked two crucial wickets of Brandon King and Devon Thomas. He also recorded a stunning economy rate of 4.2 when India had to defend the score of 191.

The brilliant spell by the youngster helped the Men in Blue take an unassailable lead of 3-1 in the five-match series. Skipper Sharma seemed highly impressed with the youngster for the way he bowled and used the conditions.

The captain also spoke about the importance of giving enough opportunities to the youngsters. The 35-year-old believes that Avesh’s height played a major role in his success on the USA’s pitches.

“We do understand Avesh’s talent. Anyone can have one or two bad games, but we want to keep his skills in mind. We want to give boys enough game time in the middle.

“He used the conditions and his height really well, which was great to see,” Rohit said post-match presentation as quoted by Crictracker.

India needed to change mindset and attitude after T20 World Cup 2021

Further in the interaction, Rohit also elaborated on what needs to be changed to end India’s trophy drought. Since the 2013 Champions Trophy win, India have failed to win any ICC events.

The Men in Blue were the favourite to lift the T20I World Cup in the UAE last year. However, a poor performance against Pakistan and New Zealand in the league round ruled the team out of the tournament. 

Speaking about the same, the current Indian skipper added that there needs to be a change in the mindset and approach.

"We have made it very clear after the T20 World Cup in Dubai when we did not qualify and we felt there needs to be a change in our attitude, our approach, and how we play the game so we had the clear message given to the boys,” Sharma concluded.

Also Read: IND vs WI| Avesh Khan repays Rohit Sharma's faith