Akash finds light at the end of tunnel

Kanpur: The sample size may be small as he has only played two Test matches but the early indications are Akash Deep is a potent addition to India’s enviable pace riches.

After impressing everyone with a decent debut where he picked up 3/83 in the first innings of the fourth Test against England in Ranchi earlier this year, the 27-year-old gave another demonstration of his talent and hunger with a commendable performance in the opening Test against Bangladesh in Chennai.

Handed the ball as first change bowler, Akash, after warming up with a decent opening over, struck twice in his second with two peach of deliveries that left the batters befuddled. First he gate-crashed through the defences of Zakir Hassan with a sizzling in-swinger and then repeated the same off the very next ball against Mominul Haque — also a left-hander.

Both the balls had that extra zip, skidded off the surface and the cunning late movement — a la Shami. While an unprepared Zakir was beaten for pace, Mominul, despite expecting it, was a tad late on the shot, the ball catching the inside of his bat before rattling the stumps.

Akash had bowled a total of just 11 overs at Chepauk but that was enough even for the critics to praise the arrival of a new gem.

The rise of a Test cricketer from Sasaram, a historical city in Rotas district of Bihar with barely any sporting facilities, is one of the extraordinary rags to riches stories of Indian cricket. When Akash initially wanted to play cricket, he faced opposition from his own parents. And when he defied them, he was treated as an outcast not just by his own family but by the neighbourhood as well, many who prevented their kids from mingling with Akash.

Around 2010, the 14-year-old Akash decided to pack his bags to Durgapur, West Bengal to give wings to his cricketing dreams. He found support from his uncle who helped him enroll at an academy where Akash learnt the ropes but in tennis ball.

Just as he was getting a grip of things, disaster struck as his father passed away. And just as the family was coming to terms with the loss of the primary breadwinner, another tragedy hit them as Akash lost his elder brother. This forced him to abandon his cricketing dreams in order to feed his two young sisters. 

Even during those turbulent times, Akash never gave up on his cricketing dreams as that was his only love. So after three years of toil in Sasaram, he moved to Kolkata where, through the help of a well-wisher, he joined United Club. He rose through the ranks quickly through sheer determination and was soon leading their attack in club cricket.

It’s his performance in one of those club matches that changed his life. “A lot of people may take credit for Akash but the first guy who spotted him was Manoj Tiwary,” an official, who was involved in Saurav Ganguly’s Cricket Association of Bengal Vision 2020 programme that was instrumental in grooming Akash, told DH on condition of anonymity.

“Tiwary played a club match against Akash and he really liked what he saw of him. He had the pace, the seam movement, a nice in-swinger. So he called me and told me about him. I then called under-23 coach Saurasish Lahiri to include him in the squad but the problem was he hadn’t played any age-group cricket for Bengal and Lahiri found it impossible to include him. So we made him a part of the Vision 2020 programme which enabled Lahiri to play him.”

Since then Akash’s graph has only gone upwards. He made his List A and first-class debuts in 2019 season and along with Mukesh Kumar and Ishan Porel has been the backbone of the Bengal bowling unit. Those consistent performances propelled him into national reckoning with the defining moment coming in Ranchi.

“The tools Akash has added to his ammunition in a short time are incredible,” opines Lahiri. “He’s got a fast arm rotation and coupled with the light grip, he can get the ball to skid off the surface naturally. He can create that whip effect naturally which could be really lethal in foreign countries. Apart from the deadly in-swinger, he’s developed the one that can hold the line. Now working with the Indian team that has the best minds will only make him stronger.”

One of the reasons why India has become such a good travelling side over the last decade is because of the fast bowling riches. Not just Bumrah, Siraj and Shami but the reserves they have in Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh, Arshdeep Singh, Navdeep Saini and even Vidwath Kaverappa and Vyshak Vijaykumar. Akash’s stellar rise is a splendid addition to it.