Years of toil, personal setbacks and the extended wait for a senior team cap is a story arc that many an Indian cricketer traces. It is no different for Akash Deep, the 27-year-old Bengal speedster who made a memorable Test debut (3/70) in Ranchi against England on Friday.
“Like any kid, my dream was to play Tests for India,” said Akash, who hails from Sasaram in adjoining Bihar’s Rohtas district. “I got my Test cap midway between the place I belong to and the place I play cricket for. It was very emotional as I felt that there was a responsibility on my shoulders to do something.”
Akash’s dreams of being a cricketer were nurtured in the industrial city of Durgapur (West Bengal) where he first went under the pretext of finding a job. The passing of his father and brother, however, took out three years as he looked to make ends meet and support his mother. But cricket remained his calling.
“When I lost my father and my brother in the same year, I wanted to do something in life. When you lose two family members, you don’t have much to lose but only gain. I left home (in 2016) and Bengal really supported me. I got a very good environment to flourish there.”
In Bengal’s two recent runs to the Ranji Trophy final, Akash, alongside fellow India pacer Mukesh Kumar, has played a stellar role. In 2019-20, his debut season, he took 35 First Class wickets and in 2022-23, he finished with 42 scalps, helping him earn a call-up to the India-A set-up and subsequently to the Test squad.
“I didn’t even know cricket as a kid,” Akash confessed. “The place I came from had no cricket. From 2007 onwards, I played tennis-ball cricket. I started knowing [actual] cricket after I left home.
“I want to dedicate this performance to my father. He wanted his son to do something in his life but I couldn’t do anything while he was alive. So this is for him.”
