- Friday, May 03, 2024
The 27-year-old pacer, who replaced Jasprit Bumrah in the match, took the wickets of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope to peg England back earlier in the innings.
By: Shubham Ghosh
AKASH Deep, the Indian pacer who made his international debut in the fourth Test match of the ongoing series against England in Ranchi on Friday (23), impressed fans and experts with a three-wicket burst early in the innings that reduced the visitors to 57 for 3 inside 12 overs.
The 27-year-old from the eastern state of Bihar who plays first-class cricket for the neighbouring state of (West) Bengal, picked the wickets of openers Zak Crawley (42) and Ben Duckett (11) and Ollie Pope (0) after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat on what seemed to be a challenging wicket at JSCA International Stadium Complex.
Deep, who made his debut in the absence of ace seamer Jasprit Bumrah who has been rested for the match, was handed the Test cap by India head coach Rahul Dravid and congratulated by captain Rohit Sharma and teammates. His mother was present in the gallery to watch his son earn the opportunity to play for the country.
Read: Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was once homeless, hits double ton against England
Say hello to #TeamIndia newest Test debutant – Akash Deep 👋
A moment to cherish for him as he receives his Test cap from Head Coach Rahul Dravid 👏 👏
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/FUbQ3Mhpq9 #INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/P8A0L5RpPM
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 23, 2024
However, while the fast bowler’s performance with the ball for the India A side and first-class cricket that earned him a berth in the senior team, life has not been an easy ride for him as he had to leave the game that he loves a few years ago to make ends meet.
Read: Yashasvi Jaiswal takes India back to Sehwag era and that’s a deadly news for bowlers across world
Deep, who was always passionate about playing cricket, was discouraged by his father. He then left his home state to go to Durgapur in Bengal with the pretext of finding a job. There, he found support from one of his uncles to pursue the game. He joined a local academy and impressed many there with his pace. But before he could make a name, Deep got a setback as his father passed away. His elder brother had also died.
The responsibility to run the household then fell on Deep’s shoulders and to take care of his mother, he had to give up cricket for three years to earn a livelihood. But the passion in him continued and he eventually moved to Kolkata, the capital of Bengal, where he started living in a small rented room with his cousin.
His luck favoured him as he got an opportunity to join Bengal Under-23 team and made his debut in 2019. He also got to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League and never looked back again.
In 30 first-class games that Deep has played, he claimed 104 scalps with one 10-wicket haul. In T20s, he has 48 wickets from 41 outings.
On Friday, he became the 313th player to play for India in Tests.
