India announced a squad for the five-match T20I series against West Indies on June 5 with some surprising changes. Rinku Singh's absence grabbed all the headlines but fans also noticed a surprise return of Avesh Khan into the team.
Avesh, the 26-year-old right pacer, last played for India during the 2022 Asia Cup last year and his performance hasn't been promising to warrant a place in the current T20I team. He was dropped from the team after conceding 53 runs at an economy rate of 13.25 against Hong Kong and missed the rest of the Asia Cup tournament due to fever.
His last T20 outings came during Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) where he took only eight wickets at an economy rate of 9.75. He was limited to only nine appearances for Lucknow Super Giants due to his inconsistent form. So, fans were surprised by his sudden return to international scenes and asked the management and selectors to justify the pacer's selection for the West Indies tour.
Meanwhile, fans were also shocked to see Umran Malik's name in the 15-member squad. The young speedster also endured poor outings in the IPL 2023 with Sunrisers Hyderabad. He took only five wickets in eight IPL matches at an economy rate of 10.85 and was slammed for his costly spells against big teams.
Umran's speed might have played a big role in his selection but fans were not expecting his name for the West Indies tour. Apart from Umran and Avesh, Mukesh Kumar, who is part of India's Test and ODI squad for the West Indies tour, also kept his place in India's T20I squad. His performances in IPL 2023 were below par but now he finds a chance to make his international debut across all formats on West Indies tour.
