Image Credit- BCCI
After working up a sweat in a rigorous training session, India’s fast bowler Akash Deep is using his phone to check the results of the first Rawalpindi Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh on a sunny afternoon in Bengaluru.
He wants to assess how their batters are doing because he knows he might be considered for India’s home Test match against Bangladesh later in September. Akash’s nightly ritual has been to watch cricket that pertains to his current tasks. He has been training hard and increasing his bowling workload during the day.
“I haven’t played any competitive cricket since the Bengal T20 League in June,” Akash tells ESPNcricinfo ahead of the Duleep Trophy from September 5 in Bengaluru and Anantapur. Dengue fever had sidelined him for three weeks until mid-July, but he’s done the work since to get himself ready in time for India’s home season, and hopes to add to his maiden Test cap that he earned against England in Ranchi this year.
“I was on complete bed rest for those three weeks. When I came back to bowl, I realised the body takes time to get back into rhythm. You can do as much gym work as you want, but unless you bowl, those bowling muscles don’t open up.”
In his four seasons in first-class cricket, Akash, 27, has already made a big impact as a skilful bowler who can dart the ball any way. In 2018, Akash created “hair-raising excitement” and dissatisfaction when he was seen by former Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary during a club match in Kolkata. Tiwary attributed this to Akash’s penchant to bowl “four good balls and two hit-me balls.” In Kolkata, a chat with fast bowler Mohammed Shami of India proved to be pivotal.
“He spoke to me about his issues with fitness, what he did to improve, how he came back from injuries,” Akash says. “That chat gave me perspective. I used to bowl mid-130s, but after following his advice, I worked on my fitness and I realised slowly I could bowl long spells without being tired.”
“As a fast bowler, I keep discussing with so many coaches. It’s about building up to get wickets in Tests. The formula doesn’t change, A good ball is a good ball at both club level and international level. My job is to keep hitting the five-to-seven metre mark, keep it there. The more you can bowl there, the more successful you will be.”
By following these practices, he was able to take three wickets in his first hour of playing Test cricket in Ranchi, including Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Zak Crawley, all before he was six overs old. Akash has moved past the exhilarating high of his Test debut as he considers those feelings now.
It has been a difficult road to get his India cap. Within two months of one other’s deaths in 2015, his brother and father both passed away from illness. At that moment, he contemplated moving to Kolkata to pursue cricket as a career.
In 2007, Akash’s entire community in Sasaram, a small village in rural Bihar, pooled their money to rent a TV and a generator so they could watch India play Pakistan in the T20 World Cup final. After sixteen years, they gathered in front of his house to watch one of them play for India on a massive screen. However, at short notice, Akash’s mother and sister were racing to Ranchi to witness him receive his Test cap from Rahul Dravid.
Akash is well-spoken and sincere. He gives credit to his mentors for this and thanks everyone who has assisted him.
There’s determination to Akash and a hunger that leaves little room for complacency. He knows he’s just getting started. “I feel every stage I’ve got chance, I’ve tried to perform well. But I don’t feel I’ve achieved a lot. As a person there’s no age to learning. If I get into this mindset that I’ve achieved, then that bhookh (hunger) dies. I want to just stay fit, keep playing, focusing on that and not think of what I’ve done.
“My mindset is simple. The next match I play is the most important match of my life.”