Wicketkeeper Aravelly Avanish claims the IPL is not on his mind ahead of the U-19 World Cup final, but he can’t stop gushing about his upcoming stint with the Chennai Super Kings where he would get to meet Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

“I could not believe that I have been selected by CSK. It took a while to realise that. I was at home that time and our phone was continuously ringing on that day,” the 18-year-old from Hyderabad said.

“I want to make Dhoni Sir and the CSK family proud. IPL is not on my mind right now. 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. It was a dream-come-true moment for me,” Avanish, the son of a software engineer, said on the eve of the big-ticket game against Australia.

What does he want to learn from Dhoni? “I want to learn about the mindset in pressure situations from him... Like when the team is under pressure and not performing well, how he uses his mind to win matches from those situations.

“His 2011 World Cup final innings. There is so much to learn from him,” said Avanish, his admiration for the former India captain overflowing.

He also wants to ask Dhoni about keeping to the spinners. “I also want to
learn keeping to spinners and how to effect the fastest of stumping.”

Not just Dhoni, Australian great Adam Gilchrist is also on Avanish’s list of favourites. “Gilchrist is my all-time favourite. I have learnt a lot watching him (his videos). His reading of the game and how he keeps self-belief in every situation... I have never met him, but I want to meet soon,” he said.

On his preparation for the U-19 final, he said: “We have come here to win the
World Cup and till now we have executed the plans well. We are playing as a unit and hopefully we will continue to do the same.”

With inputs from PTI