"Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni were my 2 favorite wickets" - Avesh Khan [Exclusive]

A sensational IPL 2021 campaign has made young pacer Avesh Khan an overnight sensation. He has been named in Team India's standby squad squad for the World Test Championship final as well as the Test series against England.

The 24-year-old has had to wait quite a while to get consistent chances in the IPL, but he has undoubtedly proved his mettle this season. Although the IPL 2021 season was suspended halfway due to COVID-19 concerns, Avesh Khan has been one of the finds of the tournament.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Avesh Khan opened up about his IPL journey, his breakthrough season with the Delhi Capitals (DC), his chances of featuring in India's T20 World Cup squad, and much more!

Avesh Khan's inital IPL days

Avesh Khan had made his IPL debut for RCB in 2017

Following his impressive performances in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, Avesh Khan still had to wait for a year to make his IPL debut. He turned out for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their last league game of IPL 2017 - a dead rubber against the Delhi Daredevils.

He returned with figures of 1/23, and was snapped up by the Daredevlis at the mega auction the following year. Avesh Khan did get six games to showcase his talent in IPL 2018, but he could only pick up four wickets.

A couple of wicketless seasons meant that the pacer slowly started to fade away into oblivion. But the pacer explained how he believed in himself despite the lack of opportunities.

"I did have a good game for RCB against Delhi, and then in the next year's Mega Auction I was picked by Delhi Daredevils where are played six games. The next two seasons I played only one match each so the lack of chances did frustrate me a bit. But I did whatever was in my hands and worked hard on improving my slower ball, yorker, bouncer and made myself mentally prepared that I can play the full season," Avesh Khan said.

Avesh Khan's breakthrough IPL 2021 season

Avesh Khan picked up 14 wickets for DC in just 8 games of the IPL 2021 season

The Delhi-based franchise showed faith in the youngster and backed him to spearhead their inexperienced pace attack against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Avesh Khan was simply brilliant in DC's IPL 2021 opener, picking up a couple of wickets and giving away just 23 runs. He hasn't looked back since, taking 14 wickets from eight games at a brilliant economy rate of 7.70.

"Rabada and Nortje weren't available for the first game and Ishant Bhai had a niggle, so I had an idea that I was going to play the first game. If you play for your team from the first game itself, it gives you a lot of confidence. I wasn't thinking whether I would just get 1-2 games. I was taking one game at a time and focusing on doing well for my team," Avesh Khan stated.

Representing DC from the very first game of IPL 2021 boosted his confidence, with the 24-year-old also opening up on the role of head coach Ricky Ponting and skipper Rishabh Pant in helping him express himself.

"Ponting and Rishabh had pretty clearly told me to be mentally prepared to play right from game one. Ponting backed me and motivated me by saying that I was capable of leading the attack. Rishabh too was very supportive, always used to have conversations with me and backed me to bowl fearlessly and set the field accordingly," Avesh Khan added.

Avesh Khan celebrates after picking MS Dhoni's wicket

For any young and upcoming bowler, there are some dismissals that remain with them for a long time. Avesh Khan was lucky enough to have two big scalps in the form of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni.

Avesh Khan on MS Dhoni"Pant knew Dhoni would try to hit out. But he also knew that Dhoni was playing after a gap of four months, and it won’t be easy for him. Pant told me to bowl just short of a length. I did just that"#MSDhoni | @MSDhoni | @ChennaiIPL

— MSDian™ (@ItzThanesh) May 11, 2021

The 24-year-old managed to dismiss both stalwarts in IPL 2021, a huge achievement considering the stature of the two greats. Avesh Khan also shed light on the planning that went behind Kohli's dismissal.

"Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni were my two favorite wickets. I was really happy when I dismissed them because both of them are legends. There was no particular plan in getting Kohli dismissed, just that we wanted to stick to a line just between the off stump and the fourth stump. He is a world class batsman and looks to score runs so the idea was to build pressure with dot balls and it worked," Avesh Khan revealed.

Rhythm becomes such a crucial factor for any fast bowler, especially when he is in great form. So the suspension of IPL 2021 certainly came at a wrong time for Avesh Khan.

The pacer, however, believes the right decision was made by the BCCI and is confident about finding his rhythm whenever IPL 2021 resumes.

"The cases were increasing in the bubble, and thus although I was in a good rhythm, it was the right decision by the BCCI to suspend IPL 2021 for the time being. Speaking about my rhythm, as I keep on bowling, I feel my rhythm is always maintained," the 24-year-old said.

Avesh Khan on his chances of being part of Team India's T20 World Cup squad

After Bumrah, Avesh Khan should be the first bowler to make it into the list of the T20 WC squad. Unreal consistency.

— Archit. (@IndianJoeyy) May 2, 2021

Avesh Khan's sensational performances have raised quite an interesting debate about whether he should be a part of Team India's T20 World Cup squad. Some even believe he needs to be slotted straight into India's playing XI.

Although the praise might be great for Avesh Khan's confidence, he is currently taking one game at a time and isn't thinking too much ahead. He is committed to the Delhi Capitals' cause and isn't worried about individual goals.

"That ( getting in the T20 World Cup squad) is not something that I am focusing on right now because what I can control is my performance. If the second half of the IPL 2021 happens later this year, I will try my best to continue the rhythm that I found in the first half. My focus has always been to pick wickets and help my team win," Avesh Khan concluded.

With reports of the second phase of the IPL 2021 happening in England later this year, Avesh Khan might have a genuine chance of making it into India's T20 World Cup squad. However, his focus is on the present and he will continue to put in the hard yards to become better.