"We have lived with it for 10 years" - Avesh Khan on his struggles while growing up
Coming from a humble background, Avesh Khan had to work hard to make his way to the top. From his dream of only bowling as fast as he could to playing alongside Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, the youngster from Indore is now on the verge of making his international debut.
While the road will go on smoothly from here, the 25-year-old cricketer has not forgotten his past and where he has come from. Avesh stressed that he struggled for almost a decade before grabbing the headlines with his performance in the U-19 World Cup.
Speaking with Boria Majumdar on the Revsportz YouTube channel, Avesh Khan said:
"Only me, mummy and papa have gone through the actual struggle. If I talk about my struggle it will finish within two minutes but we have lived with it for 10 years. I can talk about it but only we can feel what we have gone through."
"If you want to achieve something in your life you have to struggle irrespective of your family background," he added.
Avesh Khan, who has been on the fringes of the Indian side for almost a year now, was recently picked for the upcoming limited-overs series against West Indies. The Men in Blue play three ODIs followed by the same number of T20Is against Kieron Pollard & Co.
My father didn't have work for two years - Avesh Khan
The young pacer remembers the days when his father's shop was demolished, leaving him jobless for almost two years. Avesh thanked the almighty as they can now afford a car and that they have come past their struggles.
"My father was a shopkeeper and after a span of time he didn't had any work for two years after his shop was vandalised. The ground was far from our house and the bus fare cost around 20-30 rupees which was a lot for us at that time. So I told my father to arrange a cycle for me so that I can go to the ground and school with that and save some money. But my father didn't had that much money at that time so we had to buy a second-hand bicycle which came to my aid," he continued.
"This is a small story but I feel happy now that I have a car and whenever we go past that cycle store we all have a small smile on our face. We are also grateful to the almighty for bringing us this far," Avesh concluded.
Avesh Khan, who finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2021 with 24 scalps, will look to continue the blazing form if an opportunity comes his way against the team from the Caribbean.