‘You’re Almost There. ‘: Avesh Khan Presses Restart Button Ahead of Crucial Season | Exclusive

They continue to play an important role in his cricketing journey which got prominence with the 2016 Under-19 World Cup and continues to get better with performances in the domestic circuit, A tours and the IPL.

After a consistent run for Madhya Pradesh in the red-ball circuit, the seamer, selected in the Central Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, wants to press the reset button and doesn’t want to get desperate in chasing the India Test cap.

The right-armer is aware that a good Duleep Trophy run will strengthen his case for the Test squad but doesn’t want to look too far ahead.

“Jab aap dil se mehnat karoge to cheeze apne aap aapke paas aayegi, cheezo ko paane jaaoge to kabhi kabhi hota hai wo cheez milti nahi hai,” he sums up his mindset while preparing for the start of an important phase in his career.

In a freewheeling chat with News18 CricketNext, Avesh talks about his IPL season, the joy he gets while bowling with the red ball and the communication with the Indian selectors which adds more confidence to his game.

Here are the Excerpts:

Latest you played in the IPL for Lucknow Supergiants. Personally, how satisfied were you with the performance?

I am a bit unhappy with my performance this season as I didn’t meet my own expectations. I have been among the wickets for the last two seasons and was also the second-highest wicket-taker in one of the seasons. I was also the highest wicket-taker for Lucknow in the last season too. This year I could only pick 8 wickets, so slightly unhappy with that. As a player, I want to maintain my performance with consistent outings. I did well in 2-3 matches this season but wasn’t able to capitalise on that. For me, it was an average performance.

How difficult was it for fast bowlers in the IPL? Except for the Ahmedabad track, that too early on, not many wickets helped the seamers. Did the nature of surfaces also play a role in the average returns for fast bowlers?

Yes, Lucknow’s wicket was also slow and had a low bounce. The nature of the soil there is such and it was behaving differently. The ground staff did a lot of preparation on the track but even after that, the wicket remained on the low and slow side. Even elsewhere, the wickets were flat. Be it Punjab or even Ahmedabad. Even Ahmedabad wasn’t a bowling wicket. Whatever games I saw of Gujarat, except one or two games, all of them were high-scoring. Even the final was a high-scoring affair. Even the qualifier was high-scoring and even in our game, there was another high-scoring match. And then the game where Rinku Singh hit five sixes, even that saw plenty of runs being scored. Continuously 200+ scores were made this season and it was a challenging season for the bowlers. From what I saw, every fast bowler had an economy of over 8.5. Impact Player played a role in that too since the team batted really deep this season and played with a lot of intent from word go. The mindset of the teams has now changed and everyone now wants to dominate from the first over. It was a tough season for the bowlers.

When a tough season like this is going on, does a fast bowler like yourself try and change things out of desperation? Your strength has been making the new ball talk in the first six overs and when that wasn’t working did you try and rework your plans and maybe have more cutters or variations?

Like team meetings during the season, we also have meetings of the bowlers before every match – where we discuss how and where to bowl to every batter. My plan always is very wicket centric. The way the wicket behaves, I alter my plans accordingly. If it’s a slow wicket, I focus more on cutters and on a flat wicket I try to stick to hard lengths. And then in the slog, it’s more about trying to nail those yorkers. I don’t get desperate and focus on playing with the mind of the batter. Like what shot the batter is looking to play or the ball he is waiting for. So, then I move my plans in the direction opposite to the batter’s expectations. Mai desperate nahi hota kabhi cheezon ko le kar (I don’t get desperate while trying things). T20 is a batter-dominated game so I try to keep the game towards myself.

During the season, who was your go-to person to discuss plans and work on your mindset? You had captain KL Rahul, then Krunal Pandya and also mentor Gautam Gambhir and coach Andy Flower.

Everyone is very friendly in the team. GG (Gambhir) is very straightforward. He will talk for two minutes but ensure to deliver the point. KL bhai also supports me a lot and he knows about the pattern of my bowling – what I bowl and when I bowl which delivery. He is there at mid-off to guide me during my spells. After the match, I always discuss it with our bowling coach Morne Morkel. I always analyse my spells with him. In IPL, you only get to bowl a maximum of 24 deliveries so need to ensure 100% effort in every delivery. I always analyse with him to ensure I don’t repeat my mistakes in the next match.

If you could shed more light on discussions with Morkel after the game. What did you learn from him or any specific things which you picked up and included in your game?

I enjoy discussing bowling with him because he keeps his thoughts very clear. I always told him to give me clear feedback – like if I have bowled badly, then clear feedback on that will help me improve. He helped me work on using the angles while bowling, and how to use the crease better while trying to bowl yorkers. He told me to always focus on the batter’s bat and try to pick cues from the stance he takes. He told me to back my plans and always keep one delivery in mind during the run-up. It was more of working on the mental aspect of the game with him. During those 2-3 months of the IPL, one can’t do much on the technical aspects of the game and it’s the mental bit we look to fine-tune when the competition is underway.

Just moving your focus to the red ball a bit now. India are starting a new World Test Championship cycle soon and you have been one of the leading wicket-takers in the domestic competitions in the last 6-8 months. Yes, you have played for India in white ball but do you consider red ball as your strength?

I want to become a complete bowler. I don’t want to become either a white or red ball bowler. I want to play all three formats for India and want to always do well for the country. My effort always has been to pick the maximum wickets. I enjoy bowling with the red ball because it swings and it is fun to test the batter early on and then you can bowl long spells. Even in the last Ranji Trophy season, I was bowling 18-20 overs every day.

You have been on the selectors’ radar for a long time now after good performances in the domestic circuit, zone level and then the India A fixtures. Did you have any conversation with the selectors during the period?

I am always in touch with people at the NCA – who manage our workload throughout the season. Whenever I met selectors, they used to say ‘You are doing good’ and whenever they used to come for matches, they used to say ‘You are almost there and keep doing good performances’. I get motivation from those words because when selectors are keeping an eye on you it adds more confidence to your game.

NCA is keeping a close eye on us and all our training data is shared with them and we need to constantly share our training regimes with them. How much we need to bowl and all those things are regularly discussed. A lot of injuries are happening these days to players so NCA is looking after us on that front to ensure we are doing the right things.

The red ball season is now again starting for you with the Duleep Trophy where you will play for Central Zone. It could well be a crucial season for you and if things go in your favour, you can well play for India again.

I will try to do my best in whatever is in my hands. The selection process is not in my hands but doing well with the ball is. I have already started preparing for the Duleep Trophy since I want to do well for myself and help my team win matches there. If you win games for your team, it will help you too. Naam kaafi hoga agar match jitauga to.

When you look back at the last two years, right from your good seasons with Delhi Capitals and the LSG, what do you think could have been done differently to come closer to the Test cap? You did well in domestic and A tours too.

I feel you will remain in the scheme of things as a bowler if you pick wickets wherever and whenever you play. I always look for wickets. When you try and do extraordinary things, the situation is bound to get worse. I don’t look to do anything different. I just look to change my game according to the ball. With the red ball, I focus on my line and length, look to swing the ball and look to set-up the batter. When it comes to the white ball, variations become important, especially in T20s. And then be mentally ready for different situations of the game.

In the last two years, did you ever get that feeling of desperation for the India Test cap or return to white ball set-up?

Desperation is quite natural sometimes because I want to play for India. At the same time, I realise that I started playing cricket for enjoyment. In childhood, I didn’t think about playing for India but when you turn professional and also play for India, it becomes about continuously playing for the country and doing well. Upar aur neeche to chalta rehta hai, ye part of game and part of life hai. I always focus on myself and try to improve every day and keep myself fit. Jab aap dil se mehnat karoge to cheeze apne aap aapke paas aayegi, cheezon ko paane jaaoge to kabhi kabhi hota hai wo cheez milti nahi hai. You get desperate then and overthink and commit mistakes. My life revolves around the circle of bowling, gym, diet and running. I keep working on that and try to improve every day. When you get desperate for things and don’t get them, confidence goes down. I try to keep a balance on that front when it comes to my mindset.

How helpful were India A tours to remain in the scheme of things and also improve as a player in those matches against quality sides? With those tours paused you only have the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy to show your worth in red ball.

For me, the more you play, the more you grow. You realise your mistakes and work on your strengths. I played this Ranji season after a long gap because I was on India duty during one of the seasons and then COVID-19 halted the tournament. Even before that, I had 28 wickets in five matches and then 35 wickets in seven matches. In the A circuit, you get to bowl to quality batters since most of those players have been part of the national squad of their teams so you get to learn a lot and improve your confidence when you do well there.

How has been your working relationship with Chandrakant Pandit? You have spent many years with him in Madhya Pradesh.

I have played both white and red ball with him and there is no coach like Chandu sir in the domestic circuit. He always has a different plan and that’s what makes him a great coach. I have seen his process and he is into cricket day and night. He is always involved with the association and keeps asking the video analyst for videos of different players and watches them regularly. If you have to win a red ball match, you need to pick 20 wickets. He always plans for that and I really like his process. He studies the opposition so well and then discusses different plans and field placements with bowlers on how to get the batters out.

Lastly, talk to us about the mood at home. How happy is the family seeing your success as a cricketer and what kind of conversations do you have with them?

I live in a joint family and there are 22-23 people at home. Everyone watches my matches together. Even my India call was celebrated together at home and everyone saw the big auction together. I discuss cricket with my father a lot and talk about how to take the game to the next level now. My father has also advised me to start from zero again because when you start from zero, there will be a hunger to perform well and achieve more. I have pressed the restart button and hope to do well in future matches