The second squad that Ajit Agarkar selected after becoming BCCI’s new Chief Selector of the men’s cricket team was for the Asian Games 2023.
The India squad for the Asian Games 2023, captained by first-timer Ruturaj Gaikwad, comprises of the players who were rejects and misfits in the Rohit Sharma‘s regime in ODI and T20I sides.
The Asian Games are scheduled in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8 this year.
The BCCI will send a full-strength women’s team, but a second-string men’s side will be sent because the Asian Games clash with the World Cup 2023, which will start on October 5.
Avesh Khan, sone of a paan-seller, selected for Asian Games 2023 after Rohit Sharma rejected him for ODI side
What is clear from the Asian Games 2023 squad is that the selected players for this continental even in China won’t be part of India’s ODI setup. This list of players include the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Hooda, Shivam Dube, and Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan – all of these named players have featured in ODIs for India in recent years.
They have now been rejected from the ODI setup by Rohit Sharma and will be given another chance in the T20I side in the Asian Games after Ajit Agarkar selected them.
Talking about Avesh Khan, the 26-year-old fast bowler comes from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Like several cricketers in India, Avesh Khan’s story is one of going from rags to riches.
We have heard about Rinku Singh’s father working for a gas agency and his family sleeping in the basement of that agency; fans very well know about Jaiswal selling panipuri and sleeping in tents in Mumbai.
Today we tell you about Avesh Khan’s struggle story
Avesh Khan comes from a lower middle-class background with his father running a small Paan (betel leaf) shop on a road side in Indore and earning around just INR 500 daily, which clearly wouldn’t cover all the expenses of a family in a big city.
Growing up, Avesh Khan and his family dealt with major financial tussles, but with unity and grind they survived in the city.
Coming from a non-privileged background in India, Avesh knew there were little opportunities for growth in other fields other than cricket for him. So he went all-in in cricket and gave his best every single day.
His express pace and a fit body was rewarded with selection in the Under-19 team in 2014 for a U-19 WC. This was a big boost to Avesh Khan and his family as this selection and his performances in the tournament gave him confidence that he can go further more steps in cricket.
“Medium pace is not my forte. I just want to bowl pace. Today I’m not sure about the speed as it’s not measured here. But yes against Pakistan in the World Cup 2014 in UAE I had clocked 139.8kmph,” Avesh Khan told The Hindu in 2015. Avesh also got selected in the 2016 U-19 WC.
His speed got even higher and he soon started clocking 145 KPH.
He was getting spotted by the IPL scouts and RCB bagged the 20-year-old in 2017 IPL. He played in only 1 matches in 2017, before Delhi bought him in 2018 for INR 70 lakhs, a lift-changing amount for Avesh Khan and his family. He was at Delhi from 2018-2021 before Lucknow Super Giants bought him for a whopping INR 10 crore in 2022 and was retained in 2023.
Avesh Khan made his India debut in both T20Is and ODIs in 2022. He’s picked up 13 wickets in 15 T20Is and 3 wickets in 5 ODIs. Avesh is one of the fastest bowlers in the country and could have a bright India career.
Team India squad for 19th Asian Games: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk)
Standby list of players: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sai Sudarsan
The men’s cricket competition will take place from 28th September to 8th October in a T20 format.
