WI vs IND: Rohit Sharma defends decision to give Avesh Khan the last over

Avesh Khan in action for India against West Indies

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma defended his decision to hand the ball to Avesh Khan to defend ten runs in the last over of the second T20I against West Indies at Warner Park on Monday.

Defending a sub-par total of 139, Indian bowlers did well to take the game to the last over. In the 20th over of the match, West Indies were five down and needed 10 runs to win. The senior paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar had two overs left and he was likely to bowl that over. But out of nowhere, Rohit decided to give the ball to Avesh to defend 10 runs. 

The inexperienced Avesh couldn't stop the West Indies batters from chasing down the total as they secured the win with four balls to spare.

In the post-match talk, Rohit was asked about the thought process behind handing the ball to Avesh in place of Bhuvneshwar. Rohit answered the question by saying that it was a part of the strategy to give the final over of the innings to Avesh in order to give him the experience to bowl the death overs.

"It's all about giving opportunity. We know Bhuvneshwar (Kumar), what he brings to the table, but if you don't give opportunity to Avesh (Khan) or Arshdeep (Singh) you will never find out what it means to bowl a tot the death for India. They have done it in the IPL. Just one game, those guys don't need to panic. They need backing and opportunity," said Rohit Sharma in the post-match presentation.

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