IPL 2022 Auction: 'Rishabh Pant Told Me, ‘Sorry Le Nahin Paye': Avesh Khan After Being Bought By Lucknow Super Giants

India and Madhya Pradesh bowler Avesh Khan hit a jackpot when Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bought him for INR 10 crores in the recent IPL 2022 mega auction. He has now revealed what Rishabh Pant, captain of his former franchise Delhi Capitals told him after he went to the LSG franchise.

Avesh Khan was one of the stars of the Indian Premier League- IPL 2021 season as he ended the edition with the second most wickets- 24, behind Harshal Patel’s record haul of 32 scalps. However, DC didn’t retain Avesh Khan as they chose Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, and Anrich Nortje as their pre-IPL 2022 auction retentions.

Meanwhile, LSG created a record by making Avesh Khan the most expensive uncapped player in Indian Premier League auction history. In an interview with Sportskeeda, Avesh said that he was confident of going for INR 7 crores, but was shocked at the amount he was sold at.

“I was on the flight at that time and I had expected I would get at least 7 crores. But since I was on the flight and couldn’t watch the auction live, I was feeling a bit nervous thinking which team would pick me and for how much. Upon landing when I got to know that Lucknow bought me for 10 crores, I froze for five seconds. But then things became normal, I was like okay,” Avesh Khan said.

I Met Rishabh Pant Outside And He Held His Arms Wide Open For Giving Me A Hug: Avesh Khan

Talking about his former franchise, Avesh said that captain Rishabh Pant met him after the IPL 2022 auction, as both are with the Indian team in Kolkata right now for the three-match T20I series against West Indies, where Avesh is strongly tipped to make his India debut. He also said that he will miss Ricky Ponting, the head coach of the Delhi team because of his emotional connection with the franchise.

He also revealed what Pant had to say after the news was broken.

“I would miss them [Ricky Ponting and Co.] a lot because I had an emotional connect with the Delhi Capitals. After our flight landed in Kolkata, I met Rishabh outside and he held his arms wide open for giving me a hug. He told me, ‘Sorry, le nahin paye’(sorry we couldn’t buy you). Because, they weren’t left with a huge purse and had players to buy as well. When I watched the auction later, I saw that they did place a final bid for me at 8.75cr, but Lucknow eventually bid the highest. So it was a very emotional moment with Rishabh; we have played Under-19 together, we always sit together after matches, hangout together,” Avesh elaborated.

The IPL 2022 is slated to begin in late March and is expected to be played in India itself.

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