If Akash Deep retains his place in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) final XI against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday, it will be the Bengal quick’s first IPL appearance at Eden Gardens.
Though he’s a “visitor” at home, Akash is far more familiar with the Eden and its conditions than even some of the players in the Knight Riders camp.
Acknowledging and waving to fans who were chanting “Akashbhaiyaa” from the Cricket Association of Bengal’s Club House upper tier, he certainly seems to be enjoying home comfort.
For sure Akash will be charged up if he gets to bowl on a pitch that usually assists quicks irrespective of the format. “Obviously, I cherish bowling at Eden Gardens and am definitely looking forward to this game. Whether it’s our home or away game, I’ll be giving my best as that’s what my job is.
“Yeah, in domestic cricket, the feeling is more family-like. You feel as if you are in a family. So the environment there is different.
“But in the IPL, the stage is set for you to make an impression among the big names and prove that you too belong at this level. So I’m quite aware of what I need to do as I need to prove myself among the best,” Akash told The Telegraph on Tuesday.
“I do have a fair idea of the wicket at the Eden. But it’s better not to assume that the wicket will be similar to the one when I last played here (during Bengal’s Ranji Trophy final against Saurashtra in February) around two months back. No matter how it is, I’ll have to adjust.”
His inswingers and the delivery that cuts back in have fetched him a good deal of success so far. But since last season, Akash has been working hard on getting the outswinger right.
His persistence eventually paid him dividends when he got Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma out with one that moved a shade away on Sunday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. That was also the very first over of his spell and his second ball in the game.
“I had this shoulder injury, which kept me out for a good part of last season’s Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20) Trophy and the entire Vijay Hazare Trophy. So during recovery, I felt I can’t just go on bowling inswingers as that tends to add to the load on the shoulder.
“I then started to focus on swinging the ball away. The outswinger wasn’t my strength, but during that phase, I felt I should work more on it in order to make myself an even better bowler,” Akash explained.
Will he be using the outswinger as his stock ball or a surprise weapon? Akash replied: “No, I will look to bowl that on a regular basis.
“That’s as effective as the one that comes into the batsman. Besides, a pacer needs to have plenty in his repertoire, so the focus should be on adding to the options.”
