Jaipur/Mumbai, Nov 22 : Rajasthan Royals have announced the signing of Indian pacer Avesh Khan from Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the IPL 2024 retentions deadline, with top order batter Devdutt Padikkal going in the other direction. The signing of Avesh Khan will further strengthen the Royals' pace bowling department, with the 26-year-old known for moving and seaming the ball both ways, and also being an effective option in the death overs. Since making his IPL debut in 2017, the pacer has picked up 55 wickets in 47 matches at a strike rate of 18.29. He finished as the second highest wicket-taker in the 2021 season with 24 scalps in 16 matches, while in IPL 2022 he was the highest wicket-taker for LSG with 18. Meanwhile, his journey in the domestic circuit started in 2014 with Madhya Pradesh, for whom he has 112 wickets in 92 T20 games with an economy of 8.22. The 26-year-old went on to represent the India Men's Under-19 team at the U19 Men's World Cup 2016 where he finished as the country's top wicket-taker. In 2022, he made his senior team debuts in both T20Is and ODIs for India, following which he impressed in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season, picking up 38 wickets in the season. Earlier this year, Avesh was also a part of the team that won the Gold Medal at the Asian Games. Welcoming the pacer to the franchise, Royals' Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara said, "Avesh has proved his mettle in recent years to be one of the top Indian pacers in the country. He has the ability to both swing and seam the ball, and is an effective asset at both the start of the innings and towards the end. He has a lot of variations in his armour which will be extremely valuable in the different conditions that we play in across the country. He will prove to be a valuable addition to our pace bowling department and we are looking forward to having him contribute to the team's successes." Thanking Devdutt Padikkal for his services to the franchise, Sangakkara added, "We all admire Dev (Devdutt Padikkal) immensely for the commitment and passion he's shown over the past two seasons with us, and for the significant contribution he's made to the franchise. His energy is loved all round the team and we will certainly miss having him around the group. It was a very difficult decision to let him go given the immense talent and potential that he has, and all of us at the Royals would like to thank him for his services to the franchise. We wish him the very best for this next chapter, and hope for him to always continue to shine." /IANS