CRICKET
Avesh Khan makes it to Indian squad for Cape Town Test against South Africa
Avesh Khan has been added to the Indian Test squad against South Africa. For the 2nd Test of the series at Cape Town, Avesh has made it to the squad as a replacement for Mohammed Shami. The star pacer was ruled out of the series against SA even before the start of the series due to an injury he sustained in the ODI WC 2023, which was a huge blow for the visiting side.
India had not named any replacement for Shami for the Test series against SA. In the first Test, India played the pace quartet of Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammad Siraj, and Shardul Thakur. The bowling of India in the Test match at Centurion was not good and it was one of the main reasons for India’s loss. The result of the first Test against SA saw the struggles of India.
Ahead of the second Test, India has made a surprising decision to include Avesh Khan as the replacement for Shami. While the move has been abrupt and came at a probably not-so-ideal time, Avesh probably has done enough to be an able replacement for Shami in the Test series. The pacer was good in the ODI series against SA and had a very good spell for India A.
Good performances by Avesh Khan in recent times
In its statement, the Indian cricket board confirmed the replacement of Shami as Avesh. “The Men’s Selection Committee has named Mr Avesh Khan as a replacement for Mr Mohammed Shami for the second Test against South Africa to be played from 3rd-7th January 2024 in Cape Town,” wrote the Indian cricket board in its media advisory statement.
In the ODI series, Avesh claimed a 4-wicket haul in the first ODI. In the practice match, Avesh Khan bowled a very good spell and claimed a 5-wicket haul. In the practice match, Avesh bowled a long spell of 23.3 overs and bowled 5 maiden overs. He conceded just 54 runs and claimed 5 wickets. It might be the main reason for his selection in the squad.