Punjab Kings: Telugu cricketer Pyla Avinash set for IPL debut
Hyderabad: Another Telugu cricketer is prepping to play in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2025. Pyla Avinash will make his IPL debut for Punjab Kings against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 25, 2025.
Avinash, who is a native of Visakhapatnam, started playing cricket at the young age of 13. Inspired by his brother, who played in the U-19 and U-23 Andhra Pradesh teams, he took the sport seriously.
Last year, the Visakhapatnam cricketer struck 11 sixes during the 230 run chase in the local T20 tournament in his home state. Despite his unbeaten 105 off 58 balls, his side lost the match by just one run, however, his spectacular century catapulted him into the spotlight. As a result, he received a call-up to the state team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. During his debut match against Mumbai, the Andhra cricketer scored a brisk half century.
The Punjab Kings franchise is known for its formidable scouting abilities. Their specialised team watches all major state leagues and BCCI-affiliated tournaments in search of young talented cricketers.
Ashish Tuli, GM of Cricketing Operations at Punjab Kings told IANS that even though they were impressed with Avinash’s power-hitting abilities and performance in a domestic T20 tournament and had been monitoring his on-field presence for some time. Those skills helped the all-rounder from Andhra Pradesh get onboard at last year’s mega auction.
“Our attention was drawn to his power-hitting abilities and performance in a domestic T20 tournament. However, it is important to note that those performances were not the sole factor for our interest, as we have been monitoring him for some time,” said Ashish Tuli.
Another reason Avinash is excited to play for Punjab Kings is that former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has been appointed as the coach for the team. The Andhra cricketer recalled that the Aussie coach is his inspiration and he watched his videos on YouTube, especially his trademark pull shot.
“He is a legend. I used to watch Ricky Ponting's batting videos where he would play the pull shot to get inspired. He has played some great knocks in his career, and I am looking forward to working with him,” Avinash said.
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