PBKS' Avinash: Fearless Approach Key to Becoming IPL Match-Winner

'If I am there in the race, game is ours': PBKS' Avinash backs fearless approach to becoming match-winner

New Delhi, Aug 13

Picked by PBKS for Rs. 30 lakh after a standout run in the Andhra Premier League, Avinash says he wants to retain his attacking instinct while learning to temper it with greater responsibility in the high-pressure environment of the IPL.

Avinash's rise to the Punjab Kings setup came after three consistent seasons in the Andhra Premier League, culminating in a stunning unbeaten 105 off 58 balls, an innings that included 11 sixes. Yet, despite that performance, he said an IPL call-up was not something he had begun planning for.

"After scoring that 100, I never thought that I'd be in the IPL setup because it was just all instincts. I wasn't thinking long enough. I mean, okay, I'm just going match by match and not thinking about the result of the IPL. So, yeah, it was all disbelief until I went to the trials. I did well in the trials, in the Punjab trials. So, I got shortlisted at the start, and I felt very happy for that. And later, after they picked me, I was really happy, and I was literally shocked. So, yeah, it's a different kind of feeling which I can't explain," Avinash told IANS in an exclusive interaction.

PBKS' decision to invest in Avinash came when he was still largely outside the national spotlight. For the youngster, being identified by the franchise at that stage was a major moment in his career.

"First of all, I'm very lucky to be picked by the Punjab Kings. Then, I was doing really well in the Andhra Premier League. That was my third season. I was doing consistently well in all three seasons, where I scored a century when they picked me," the batter said.

The IPL call-up brought both excitement and the awareness that the level of expectation would change. "I can say both, where expectations are also higher, and responsibility comes from it. So it brought both."

The franchise, however, ensured that the transition did not become overwhelming for a player entering the IPL environment for the first time. Avinash said the PBKS management and coaching staff helped him settle into the surroundings.

"PBKS owners kept me in a very good space in Punjab. To be honest, I was never kept aside, nor were they ever treated me in such a way. But they were really good to me. They were very kind to me in all scenarios. Our head coach, our owners, and all the staff looked after me very well because it was my inaugural season for the IPL.

"So, for me, there's a lot of pressure coming to the IPL setup because I don't know how the setup will be, how strong or how things will be here with our own people, with all the legends surrounding you. There are so many instances where they kept me really good, really comfortable in all the situations while on and off the field as well," he added.

The innings that accelerated Avinash's journey came with an extraordinary display of power-hitting. During his unbeaten 105, he struck five sixes in an over, a sequence that showcased the natural aggression that has become a defining part of his batting.

"It was just instinct. I hit five sixes in that over where, on the second ball, two runs came. There's no chance for me to hit six sixes," Avinash said of the knock.

The reference to six sixes inevitably brings Yuvraj Singh's famous feat into the conversation, but Avinash has no hesitation in admitting that achieving the same landmark remains an ambition. "Obviously, it's a dream for anyone to hit six sixes in an over in any format or at any time of the game. I'm looking forward to having one in my bag."

Avinash's challenge in the IPL is not to abandon the aggression that brought him this far, but to understand when to unleash it. The batter said he has spent the last two years observing established players and studying how they assess bowlers and situations.

"The last two years, I've been developing, you know, looking after so many players in the team. How they take on the bowlers, in what situation, at what point in time. I'm constantly learning from sitting in the dugout, though I didn't get any chance. But I still feel fearless is my thing, which I don't want to stop. But yeah, I can't be more reckless about it. So, I want to be more responsible and fearless," he expressed.

For Avinash, that mindset does not depend on whether he is facing the first ball of an innings or the final delivery. His emphasis is on clarity and trusting the instincts developed through repetition.

"I'll have a clear mind while batting, even if it is the first ball or the last ball. I have a clear mind. So, it's just the instinct we get from practising a lot and executing well in the match. So, yeah, it's just all instinct, and it's just a clear mind and doing what you are doing since all your life," he mentioned.

While Avinash has been identified primarily for his aggressive batting, he does not want his ambitions to end with simply becoming a power-hitter. He aims to be the player who can alter the course of a match when his team is under pressure.

"I can change the, you know, course of the game really well. Even if the team is in a losing situation, I can step up then because I've done those things so many times. So, I can describe it like that. If I am there in the race, the match is ours. I think of myself as a match winner," Avinash noted.

That confidence is being shaped by an IPL environment in which Avinash has had the opportunity to observe some of the game's most experienced figures.

One of those figures is Ricky Ponting, whom Avinash grew up watching as a batter before eventually finding himself working under him as a coach. The transition from watching the Australian great on television to discussing the game with him has been one of the more surreal aspects of his early IPL journey.

"His attitude and, you know, commitment towards the game really surprised me. In his whole career, he played really good innings. I used to watch him bat. And after I was picked, obviously Ricky Ponting is the head coach, and I felt it was unreal. So, there are times I used to sit and talk to him about the game, about the mindset and, you know, all the technical aspects.

"I am really happy that I got a chance to work with him the last two years. And about whether he has told me something about my batting, yeah, 100%. He did some technical changes and, you know, he didn't tell me so many big, big things. But he made small, small changes which really helped me in the way I am batting right now," Avinash said of working under Ponting.

Behind Avinash's rapid rise is a family influence that predates the IPL, with his elder brother playing a central role in introducing him to the sport and supporting his development.

Avinash believes that without his brother's own cricket journey, he may never have developed the vision or received the same support to pursue the game.

"If he hadn't started playing cricket, I don't think I would have that, you know, vision or, you know, the support from the family then. I don't get that. So, since he started playing cricket, I've also started looking, you know, at him and the way he does his work every day, consistently. He is the main reason I am here right now because he used to support me; he used to guide me more as a mentor, not like an elder brother. He used to monitor me in all aspects. I am thankful to him for being there for me all the time," Avinash opined.

From an Andhra Premier League hundred that he never expected to lead to the IPL, to learning under Ponting and preparing to compete alongside established names, Avinash's journey is now entering a new phase. And while the expectations have risen with his arrival in the IPL, his ambition remains rooted in the same instinctive, attacking cricket that brought him here.

— IANS