Gautam Gambhir is always a team coach and wants his team to win, says Avesh Khan

Harare, July 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) India fast-bowler Avesh Khan said newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir has always been a team coach who is driven to see his team win at all costs. Earlier this week, Gambhir was appointed as India’s next head coach and his tenure will begin from the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka from July 26.

Avesh played under Gambhir’s guidance for Lucknow Super Giants in the 2022 and 2023 IPL, giving him a good idea of ​​how the two-time World Cup winner will conduct himself as the head coach of the Indian cricket team over the next three-and-a-half years.

“What I learnt from him is that you have to have the mindset that you have to always beat your opponent and give your 100 percent. For example, we had a team meeting and a one-on-one meeting in Lucknow (Super Giants team). He talked less but he would tell the players the points that ‘you have to do this’.”

“He gave every player his tasks, that you have to do this, or you have to play that role to work for this team. He is always a team coach, who wants his team to win, and everyone has to give 100% on the field all the time,” Avesh said in the pre-match press conference, ahead of back-to-back T20Is against Zimbabwe on Saturday and Sunday.

India are currently 2-1 up in a five-match series against Zimbabwe and Avesh has performed well on the tour with six wickets in three matches. He attributes his good performances to the conditions at the Harare Sports Club, which allowed him to excel.

“We have played on different wickets here. We played the first two matches on the same pitch, where the first match had a good bounce, but in the second match it was flattened out. The conditions are good, because it is an open pitch, the ball swings a bit.”

“But because these matches are played in the afternoon, sometimes the wicket dries up. But as a bowler you have to be prepared to bowl in all situations. I always try to take wickets for my team and with bigger boundaries here, it’s nice as a bowler. So it’s not that challenging to bowl here because the wicket and ground conditions are in your favour,” he added.

Asked how his mindset as a bowler has changed over the years, Avesh explained: “As a bowler, I always try to improve. I try to give the captain a free hand, in terms of using it wherever he wants me to bowl in a match. When a captain has a bowler who can be used in all three phases – powerplay, middle overs and in the death – his options increase and that works in my favour too.”

“As a bowler I always think about providing that as an option, and bringing in new elements like developing a slower bouncer or a leg-cutter that goes from outside the off-stump or near the wide line. I’m always trying to improve my bowling and from the coaches that I have,” he added.

“That’s because cricket is a game where you can’t say you know everything. The more variety you bring to your bowling or the more options you have in your game, the more you can grow as a player.”

Avesh further noted that the younger generation of bowlers always try to emulate the precise execution skills of fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. “Like Virat bhai said, he is a once in a generation bowler, that’s true and we all agree with that. His bowling style and mindset are different but the most important (thing) is his execution, which we all practice on.”

“When I speak to him, he tells me to concentrate on execution. If you are thinking of sending a yorker, it has to be a yorker; it cannot be a full toss or a half volley. For example, a bouncer has to be on the shoulders; a length ball has to (be aimed) at the top of off (stump). So those are the kinds of conversations I have with him,” he said.

Avesh concluded by expressing his desire to play Test cricket for India in the future. “I am very excited about Test cricket because I think it is the only format where I can prove myself. I have played red-ball games for my state team (Madhya Pradesh), India A or Duleep Trophy, and have proven myself there too.”

“So I am waiting for that opportunity because playing Test cricket is a different kind of fun. I enjoy bowling with a red ball because I bowl a lot for my state team, like 20-25 overs in a day, which adds up to 300-350 overs in a season. So I am looking forward to getting an opportunity to do well in Test cricket for India.”

Source: IANS