Lucknow, Mar 26: In a boost for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), pacer Avesh Khan has been cleared by the BCCI to participate in IPL.Avesh, who had been nursing a right knee issue, received medical clearance from the BCCI’s medical team this week and will soon join the LSG squad.
Avesh has been out of action since late January, with his last India appearance dating back to a T20I in South Africa last November. He also missed Madhya Pradesh’s final league game in the Ranji Trophy due to discomfort in his right knee, which was linked to his domestic workload.
He underwent rehabilitation at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where he reportedly completed one of his final fitness tests on Monday.
While the exact date of his arrival in the LSG camp remains unclear, he is expected to be available for their next game – an away fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 27.
The Knight Riders will also hope that Rinku Singh regains his hitting prowess down the order. It is crucial in converting a good total into something more intimidating in nature.
His recent T20 form is not that encouraging and in his last five international outings, Rinku has logged scores of 11, 9, 8, 30, 9 along with a 12 in the IPL opener.
Rinku and his top-order colleagues in KKR will hope that the Rajasthan bowlers would once again struggle to find their groove here.
The likes of Jofra Archer, who bowled the most expensive spell in the history of IPL against SRH, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Maheesh Theekshana were rudderless against the onslaught of Travis Head and Ishan Kishan. Archer had leaked 76 runs from his overs at the Uppal.
But they have an opportunity in Guwahati to regain their form.
It will also be a blot on stand-in skipper Riyan Parag who, at times, looked perplexed on the field about the decisions to be made.
The Rahul Dravid-coached side will eye sharper and more intuitive leadership from Parag against KKR.
