IPL 2021: "Avesh Khan showed that he cannot be taken lightly" - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra has said that Avesh Khan proved with his outstanding performances in IPL 2021 that the opposition batsmen can take him lightly only at their own peril.

Avesh Khan has scalped 14 wickets at an excellent average of 16.50 and a decent economy of 7.70 in IPL 2021 thus far. He is not only the most successful bowler for the Delhi Capitals but is also the joint second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra picked Avesh Khan as one of the chief architects of the Delhi Capitals' excellent run in IPL 2021 and lauded the youngster for rising to the big occasion.

"Avesh Khan has been a revelation. He has stood up and gotten counted again and again. He showed that he cannot be taken lightly. Right from the first match, you will see that Avesh Khan performed consistently well," said Chopra.

The former India player highlighted that Avesh Khan delivered the goods in all stages of a T20 innings.

"Whether it was the new ball or the old one, whether it was the middle overs or the death overs, he has been very very good," added Chopra.

With Kagiso Rabada not in the best of form, the Delhi Capitals relied heavily on Avesh Khan to provide the breakthroughs and keep a check on the run rate. The Indore-born pacer did not let the team down and emerged as the leader of their attack.

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"Avesh Khan consistently felled the best player in the opposition line-up" - Aakash Chopra

Virat Kohli was one of Avesh Khan's prized scalps in IPL 2021 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra also pointed out that Avesh Khan almost made it a habit of delivering the most crucial blows for his franchise.

"He took the huge wickets. He dismissed Faf du Plessis, Dhoni and Kohli. He consistently and regularly felled the best player in the opposition line-up. So, he was a huge contributor in Delhi Capitals' success," signed off Chopra.

"Dismissing Big players like Faf, Virat Kohli bhaiya's and Dhoni bhai's were my two favourite Wickets in the IPL 2021. It was a huge learning experience for me." - Avesh Khan

— CricketMAN2 (@man4_cricket) May 12, 2021

Apart from the scalps of Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, Avesh Khan also dismissed Jonny Bairstow and Suryakumar Yadav at crucial stages of the Delhi Capitals' encounters against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Mumbai Indians respectively.

The 24-year-old's exploits in IPL 2021 and first-class cricket have earned him a place as one of the standbys in the Indian squad for the World Test Championship final and the five-match series against England.

The Standby players of Indian team for the WTC final and England series are Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla.

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 7, 2021