Akash Deep’s only regret: ‘I couldn’t do anything when my papa was alive’

England, at stumps, were 302/7.

For Akash, it was an eventful morning. An hour before the start, coach Rahul Dravid presented him with the Test cap. A bright smile spread over his face, before the 27-year-old went over to the boundary ropes where his mother and relatives were waiting. He hugged them and strolled back to the pavilion at the other end of the stadium.

Akash Deep gets his debut cap from India head coach Rahul Dravid before the 4th IND vs ENG Test. (BCCI | X)

An emotional day for Akash Deep and his family

The family were understandably emotional, they had been through a lot. “Apne gaon ki sadak jaisi journey rahi hai bilkul, ubad khabad (My journey has been like the road in my village, bumpy),” he had once told The Indian Express, recollecting his days in Dehri village in Bihar’s Sasaram.

His father was a school teacher who wanted his son to pursue academics. Akash, though, loved cricket. But there were no facilities in his village. When asked how he started playing cricket in childhood, he would sarcastically say: “Mera bachpan mein cricket tha hi nahin! (There was no cricket in my childhood).” Cricket, though, would turn into his obsession in his teenage years. However, it was not until he turned 18 that he picked up a red ball for the first time in his life.

Nine years later, though, he is in his dreamland.

“Like any kid who plays cricket, it was my dream also to play Test cricket for India. But I never thought that I would realise it one day,” he says.

The breakthrough moment of his career came in 2019, when Bengal picked him to play Ranji Trophy. An avenue opened, and he grabbed it with both hands. His journey would gather speed. Two years later, IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore signed him. There he would pick the brains of Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood and gain valuable inputs from Virat Kohli.

He left an impression wherever he went. “Life has been such that I know I need to make every opportunity of mine count,” he says. Little doubt that he seized the first hour of his Test debut, bowling with maturity of a veteran, blending pace and aggression, knowing exactly what lengths to bowl.

Days before his Test debut, he had sought the advice of Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested from this game. He imparted a valuable piece of advice. “Bumrah bhai told me to hit back of length on this pitch. He said at international level, batsmen keep trying to get forward at you, so back of length is better,” Akash told broadcasters. And so he did, all three of his wickets came off hard length balls.

But his run-up, action and the skiddy pace was more reminiscent of Mohammed Shami, his Bengal colleague and his inspiration. He smiled shyly when the resemblance was put across. Emotion, though, didn’t overwhelm him.

“It was very emotional but I also felt that there was a responsibility on my shoulders to do something for the team,” he says.

For someone playing his first Test, he was staggeringly composed. The first time he hit the stumps — a nipbacker beat Zak Crawley — it turned out to be no-ball. But he wasn’t shattered. “As an individual, I didn’t feel very bad because I knew that if I don’t get him out, then someone else in my team will,” he says.

He would soon atone, nabbing the wickets of dangerous opener Ben Duckett and in-form No. 3 Ollie Pope in the space of three balls. Then at the stroke of drinks break in the first session, he dislodged Crawley with another deadly in-ducker. His day was made.

Akash could even feel a sense of destiny. “I got my Test cap midway between the place I belong to and the place I play cricket for.” But the journey from Dehri to Ranchi was long and arduous, and took him almost a decade to travel.