Three days remain until the Indian Premier League 2024 kicks off, with the Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore facing off in the competition’s opening match on Friday, March 22 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. All ten franchises are wrapping up their preparations ahead of the season, including social media interactions with their fans.
In a recent lighthearted Q&A session, Indian seamer Avesh Khan of the Rajasthan Royals disclosed that he is most afraid of RCB supporters. At the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Avesh famously celebrated violently by tossing his helmet after the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) thrillingly defeated RCB in the final over. He was the target of mocking on social media after the incident from a number of supporters, and several experts also took issue with his celebration.
This is Hilarious! 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/05UnIkjdly
— Virat Kohli Fan Club (@Trend_VKohli) March 17, 2024
Notably, after Avesh Khan’s and LSG coach Gautam Gambhir’s combative revelry,. The following match between the two teams took place in Lucknow, and star batsman Virat Kohli was fired up as RCB overcame their defeat to win by an inning.
In the meantime, Avesh was traded to the Rajasthan Royals for his current amount (INR 10 crore) ahead of the upcoming season from his previous squad, LSG. The right-arm seamer, whom Lucknow acquired in the 2022 mega auction, had a spectacular season, taking 18 wickets at an average of 23.11 from 13 games. He took just eight wickets at an average of 35.38 from nine matches in the 2023 edition, though, as he was unable to repeat his magic.
In the opening match of the IPL 2024, RR and LSG will play each other.
Avesh has taken 55 wickets from 47 appearances in the IPL so far at an average of 26.33, with one four-wicket haul. LSG traded Rajasthan Royals’ Devdutt Padikkal in his stead. With two fifties to his name, the left-handed hitter had a respectable season with the bat for Rajasthan in 2023, amassing 261 runs from 11 innings at an average of 26.10 and a strike rate of 130.50.
In his 57 IPL outings, Padikkal has amassed 1521 runs at an average of 27.65 and a strike rate of 125.39, for a lifetime total of 109 fifty-nine. On Sunday, March 24, the Rajasthan Royals and the Lucknow Super Giants will begin their respective IPL 2024 campaigns.