IND vs WI 2022: "He is losing his grip and may need to make way" - Danish Kaneria on Avesh Khan's poor performance
Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria isn't pleased with the back-to-back poor performances from Indian pacer Avesh Khan. After conceding 31 runs in just 2.2 overs in the second T20I against the West Indies, the 25-year-old gave away 47 runs from three overs in the next game on Tuesday.
Avesh now has a T20I career economy rate of 9.11 which is very high. Kaneria feels that with talented bowlers like Prasidh Krishna and Harshal Patel around, the Madhya Pradesh pacer might not get consistent opportunities in the Indian team now.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel on Wednesday, Danish Kaneria explained why the next few games are crucial for Avesh Khan's career. The 41-year-old said:
"Avesh Khan is leaking too many runs and the economy rate is just increasing from 10 to 12 to 15.7 runs per over last night, which is too much. I think he is losing his grip and may need to make way for players like Prasidh Krishna, Harshal Patel and even Jasprit Bumrah once he is back. If he plays the final two T20Is, he will need to step up and also perform well in Zimbabwe."
Danish Kaneria liked the idea of the Men in Blue bringing Deepak Hooda into the playing XI. However, he was surprised that the all-rounder bowled just one over, despite conceding just a solitary run:
"Deepak Hooda came in place of Jadeja and conceded just one run in the opening over. It was strange that he didn't bowl more as they could have got more overs out of him."
Deepak Hooda becomes the first Indian to bowl over no.1 of a men's T20I innings, without getting to bowl another over.
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Danish Kaneria wants Kuldeep Yadav back in the Indian team
Danish Kaneria feels left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav should be brought back into the team for the final two T20Is in Florida in place of the experienced Ravichandran Ashwin.
The 41-year-old also weighed in on the importance of giving a bowler like Kuldeep that assurance and confidence to get the best out of him. On this, he stated:
"Kuldeep Yadav should play the next game and Ashwin should be rested. Ashwin has played three games and now you know what to expect of him. But if you play Kuldeep and if he gets wickets in that gametime, that will blast his confidence. The Indian selectors can then also think of the option of unleashing the Kuldeep-Chahal partnership in the Asia Cup, with the likes of Ashwin and Jadeja around."
With India needing one more win to seal the series against West Indies, it will be interesting to see whether they make any changes for the fourth T20I.