"It seemed he will get dropped" - Aakash Chopra lauds Avesh Khan's spell in 4th India vs South Africa T20I

Avesh Khan was at his lethal best in the 4th T20I against South Africa [P/C: BCCI]

Aakash Chopra has lauded the Indian team management for sticking with Avesh Khan. The former Indian batter also praised the pacer for repaying the faith shown in him.

Avesh went wicketless in the first three T20Is of the ongoing five-match series against South Africa. Despite that, the Indian think tank persisted with him for the fourth game and the Indore-born pacer showcased his prowess with a four-wicket haul (4/18) to help the Men In Blue with the match by 82 runs.

While reviewing Friday's (June 17) game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was all praise for Avesh and the team management. He elaborated:

"Avesh made an entry in the series and the scenario changed. I was so happy for him. It seemed he will get dropped. Kudos to the team management as well because they showed confidence in him. Return on investment, you got excellent returns with dividend on your investment in faith."

The cricketer-turned-analyst praised Rahul Dravid and Co. for not being trigger-happy. Chopra explained:

"We were all discussing that only one change can be there, that you can play either Arshdeep or Umran in place of Avesh but the team said no. You will definitely get consistency with Rahul Dravid and he (Avesh) did his job, picked up four wickets, three wickets in an over."

Avesh Khan said "Credit to Rahul Dravid sir, the team hasn't changed over four games - he gives long run to everyone - he doesn't drop a player after 1 or 2 bad games - you cannot judge a player with fewer matches as well. Here, everyone is getting enough games".

Many cricket experts felt Avesh should be replaced by either Arshdeep Singh or Umran Malik in the Indian XI. However, the Men In Blue opted to field an unchanged side which yielded dividends in the end.

"He just got too excited" - Aakash Chopra on Avesh Khan missing out on a 5-wicket haul

Avesh Khan registered his best figures in T20I cricket [P/C: BCCI]

Chopra feels Avesh could have picked up a five-wicket haul if he had kept his emotions in check. He observed:

"He could have become the third Indian to get a five-wicket haul in T20Is after Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar if he had not bowled those two bouncers. He just got too excited, he was bowling bouncers to Ngidi."

While pointing out that Team India's cause was helped by Quinton de Kock's run-out and Temba Bavuma's injury, the renowned commentator also had a word of praise for Yuzvendra Chahal. Chopra said:

"I didn't understand Quinton de Kock's run out. Temba Bavuma retired hurt and after that, wickets kept falling one after the other. Yuzi Chahal once again was brilliant, there were two wickets in his account. Once again he is bowling slow, big outfield."

Chahal registered figures of 2/21 in his four overs, including the crucial wicket of Heinrich Klaasen. Harshal Patel and Axar Patel also snared a wicket apiece as Team India bowled out the Proteas for just 87 runs in pursuit of a 170-run target.

Also Read: "That has been an issue" - Aakash Chopra on Rishabh Pant's similar mode of dismissals in the India vs South Africa T20I series