Although he wears the India blue, Aravelly Avanish, the wicketkeeper for the India U-19 team, seems to prefer yellow.
Furthermore, why not? Wearing the recognisable canary yellow shirt, Avanish will be competing in the most important game of his brief career on Sunday—the U-19 World Cup final versus the Australians.
He will eventually get the chance to don the second-most popular yellow jersey and meet the guy who motivated him to put on the large gloves.
The Hyderabadi lad is very excited for his IPL stint with the Chennai Super Kings and the illustrious Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
His dream is undoubtedly to spend two and a half months learning about cricket at CSK, meet Dhoni, and probe his brain about all things cricket.
“I found it unbelievable that CSK had chosen me. Realising that took some time. Our phone was ringing nonstop that day when I was at home, the 18-year-old said to PTI Bhasha at Willmore Park in Binoni, South Africa.
His only goal after the U-19 World Cup final is to make his “Dhoni sir proud.”
“I want to bring pride to the CSK family and Dhoni sir. Now, I’m not thinking about the IPL. Prior to the highly anticipated match against Australia, Avanish gave an exclusive interview to PTI. “After the final, I will think about it, but it is a dream of every cricketer to be a part of the CSK team and play under Dhoni sir.”
Son of a software engineer, Avanish’s passion in the game began when he watched cricket with his father. “It was really a dream come true moment for me,” he remarked.
During his early years, Avanish’s favourite pastime was sitting on a couch with his father and watching cricket. The Aravelly family had the makings of a fervent cricket player back then.
I’ve wanted to play cricket since I was a young youngster. When I was a child, my father used to watch cricket on TV. I grew interested in him since I used to sit with him,” he remarked.
He is incredibly excited to start working at CSK and is bursting with anticipation for the moment he gets to meet Dhoni.
“I want to pick his brain on how to think under duress. For example, how he uses his head to win matches when the team is under duress and not playing well.
His 2011 World Cup winning inning. “There’s a lot to learn from him,” stated Avanish, who garnered attention during the November quadrangular series.
In a massive 376-run chase, he came to bat at 95 for 5, and he smashed 163 off 93 balls, including 13 sixes, to help his side win.
At the Vinoo Mankad Trophy (Under-19 one-day competition), he exceeded that record by smacking 274 runs in six innings while striking at 148. He made his List A debut with Hyderabad at the Vijay Hazare Trophy thanks to these efforts.
He also wants to know how to get better at reflexes and how to stay up with the spinners from Dhoni.
“I also want to learn wicket-keeping spinners and how to effect the fastest of stumpings,” the athlete replied.
He constantly watches the footage of the legendary Australian athlete Adam Gilchrist in his spare time.
“My fave of all time is Gilchrist. It has taught me a lot to watch him. His analysis of the game and his ability to maintain confidence in any circumstance. Like myself, he is also left-handed. I’ve never met him, but I want to do so soon,” he remarked.
He stated that the team is confident in maintaining India’s domination in the event when speaking about the final preparations.
“We came here to win the world cup, and we’ve done a good job so far with our planning. We are playing together, and maybe we will stay that way.”
Avanish seemed as cool as a cucumber when asked about the final.
“We are all prepared for the championship game and unaffected by the weight of expectations. The hotel staff simply turned off the lights. (Once I’m back at the hotel, I turn off everything. To refresh and reenergize ourselves, we discuss various topics,” he remarked.
