IPL 2022: Sunil Gavaskar backs Lucknow Super Giants pacer; 'Don't care what people say'

Lucknow Super Giants are up against Sunrisers Hyderabad in match no. 12 of Indian Premier League 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, seeking their second victory of the ongoing season. LSG are making their debut in the tournament this season and their campaign wasn’t off to a good start as they lost to the other debutant, Gujarat Titans in their inaugural game. However, they scripted an epic comeback by defeating the defending champions Chennai Super in their second game, with the help of a stunning batting effort of the squad. 

However, pacer Avesh Khan was another plus point for Lucknow as he came back with the figures of 2/38 against CSK, after returning with average figures during the match against Titans. His bowling performance made him get noticed by the fans as well as earn praises from the legendary captain of India, Sunil Gavaskar. Shedding his thoughts during a conversation with the official broadcaster of IPL, Star Sports, Gavaskar admitted that he was highly impressed with the young pacer, despite the fact that he performed below expectations in the first game. 

"If you get a batter out in your previous encounter, it gives you that much more confidence. On the other hand, if you've been hammered by the batter, you will just be a little bit nervous. And also, it's a challenge, that 'I have been hammered in the previous game and I want to show what I am capable of',” Gavaskar explained.

"He is a fabulous prospect for India," says Sunil Gavaskar

It is pertinent to note that Avesh Khan was the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2021, as he picked up a total of 24 wickets from 16 games for Delhi Capitals. Despite this feat, Avesh was released by DC prior to the IPL 2022 before getting sold for an amount of 10 crores in the IPL 2022 mega auction. Gavaskar further lauded Avesh Khan for being an Indian prospect and said, “Avesh Khan is a very good prospect. I don't care what people say about him but he is a fabulous prospect for India.”

Further elaborating his opinion, Gavaskar added that Avesh bowled slower deliveries in the final over against CSK and the reason he got hit was that those were not his regular deliveries. “So, unless you practice the slower ones in the nets and get that length right, else either are going to bowl short and length and the batters are going to take you on for runs,” the former Indian skipper added. Meanwhile, on the match front, LSG was asked to bat first by SRH on Monday and the team has registered a score of 90 runs at the loss of 3 wickets at the time of writing this article.

(Image: iplt20.com/BCCI/bcci.tv)