Akash Deep: India seamer’s journey to Test glory

After the 10 small gate in Edgbaston, Deep’s name begins with resonance around the jack circles, while his story stretches much more deeply.

Born in a small village in Bihar, one of India’s economically challenging states, Akash grew up believing that cricket was a game for the rich. His first childhood friend Vaibhav Kumar was the first belief.

“Cricket was not very popular in Bihar at the time. In our region, 20 to 25 people were playing leather ball crickets.”

“Akash mostly played with a tennis ball, but whenever we took it for a leather ball match, he would always help us win. But Akash thought that only the rich could play crickets.”

Vaibhav, a cricket player, was convinced of Deep’s talent after watching professional players closely.

“We went to Jamshedpur, where a few Range Cups and IPL players played in an academy. When I bowling them, ‘Akash was faster and better than them’.”

“I asked the coaches there to take a look at him and they were impressed. They said that Akash could play IPL as long as it works hard, even if it wasn’t India.”

However, Deep hit the tragedy before being completely tied to sports. His father died in 2015, followed by his brother six months later.

Without the winner of the primary bread in the family, cricket was waiting.

“After saving some money from farming, he took a buffer on the partnership after saving some money and used it to live. His mother received half of his late husband’s salary, which helped the family pass.”

Deep left the game for about three years, but his passion for cricket never disappeared. He decided to move to Bengal determined to chase his dream.

Vaibhav, “My father was sent to Bengal and we decided to rent an apartment there. I went to different clubs and asked them to think about Akash, but they would make fun of me.”

“But I didn’t give up and I just wanted to take a look at one of the coaches once. They agreed to play him after seeing him.”