Parthiv Patel has admitted that pacer Avesh Khan would be very pleased with his performance in the fourth T20I against West Indies, after being erratic in their previous two games. The former keeper-batter credited Indian captain Rohit Sharma for backing the Indian pacer and allowing him to complete his quota of four overs.
Avesh Khan was the Player of the Match in Saturday’s (August 6) T20I for his figures of 2 for 17. He dismissed Brandon King (13) and Devon Thomas (1) and India held West Indies to 132 while defending a total of 191.
Parthiv Patel: Avesh Khan Showed Ability To Adapt To Situation After Rohit Sharma Gave Him Confidence
Reviewing the young fast bowler’s effort, Parthiv Patel said that the performance would give the 25-year-old a lot of confidence.
“He’ll (Avesh) be very happy. We predicted that he would bowl his four overs. That’s what Rohit (Sharma) did. Rohit gave him that confidence and he bowled very cleverly today (Saturday). Avesh was brilliant, the way he came back. He showed that he had the ability to adapt to the situation.”
Parthiv Patel also credited Indian captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid for creating an atmosphere in the team where everyone feels wanted.
He elaborated: “Every player who comes into the Indian team, he wants that sense of belonging, especially in that Indian dressing room. That’s something which Rahul bhai and Rohit Sharma understand really well. They give that confidence to every player that, ‘yes you belong here’.”
At the post-match ceremony, Avesh Khan himself admitted that the captain and coach backed him despite his recent failures and urged him to bounce back.
Parthiv Patel Reckons Comeback In International Cricket Is Tough Ask But Avesh Khan’s Effort Was Commendable
Elaborating on the Madhya Pradesh fast bowler’s performance, Parthiv Patel pointed out that it is never easy to make a comeback in international cricket after going through a rough time.
He said: “Coming back in international cricket is a very tough thing, one of the toughest. Having a couple of big scars. He was perhaps coming in with a lot of doubts in his mind. After that, coming out and performing that way (was commendable).”
Before his impressive spell on Saturday, the pacer conceded 31 in 2.2 overs in the second T20I and 47 in three overs in the third. He had picked only 1 scalp in the first 2 T20Is and now has 3 scalps in 9.2 overs in the ongoing series where he conceded 95 runs at an economy rate of 10.18 and an average of 31.67. The pacer has 11 scalps in 12 T20Is averaging 30.