Cricket aspirants in Baddi village near Sasaram in Bihar will no longer have to look far for inspiration, they now have an Akash Deep to boast of.

The 27-year-old pacer, who shot to the limelight after his impressive performances for Bengal and India ‘A’, hails from Baddi which barely has any cricketing infrastructure. Yet, within eight years of starting to play the game seriously, he has cleared all hurdles to eventually win an India Test cap.

At the JSCA International Stadium on Friday, his first day in international cricket, Akash found success. His spell (7-0-24-3) on the first morning of this fourth Test was crucial to India having England seven down at stumps on Day I although the visitors managed to post 302, thanks to Joe Root’s century.

On his big day, Akash had his family by his side.

“He called us up yesterday (Thursday), saying he would be making his debut and told us to be present at the ground. We came by car from Sasaram and reached Ranchi at around 2.30am today (Friday),” Akash’s cousin Baibhaw Kumar Choubey, present at the stadium alongside the pacer’s mother Laduma Devi and his two nieces, said.

“Back at Baddi then, if a kid expressed his desire to become a cricketer, it seemed as if he had committed a crime. Cricket’s existence was practically zero there. But ever since Akash’s achievements, kids have someone to refer to.

“Besides, life was all the more tougher for Akash after he lost his father and elder brother within eight months back in 2015. But his zeal was always right up there since his tennis-ball cricket days.”

Dedicating the performance to his late father, Ramji, and acknowledging the role of his family, Akash said: “I got my Test cap at a place which is closer to Bengal, where I play, and my village. My family too is here, which did make the occasion quite emotional for me.

“But I also had in mind that I have a responsibility to contribute for my team. That, in fact, occupied a bigger space.

“My family has had a big role to play. Kyunki, jab ek saal mein aap ghar ke do bade logon ko kho dete hain, tab aapke paas khone ke liye kuchh bhi nahi rehta hai. Wahi soch ke saath mai ghar se baahar nikla thha 2016 mein... ke merey paas khone ke liye kuchh bhi nahi hai, paane ke liye sabkuchh hai (Because, when you lose two elders of your house in a year, you have nothing more to lose. With this thought, I had left home in 2016, that I’ve nothing to lose. But a lot to gain).”

Akash swung into action moments after coach Rahul Dravid handed him the Test cap. Making use of the angles, he nipped the ball back in to trap Ollie Pope lbw and cleaned Zak Crawley up.
That was after he shaped one away to induce an edge off Ben Duckett’s blade.

“The captain and the coaches asked me to keep it simple. That actually helped me a lot because when you are at this level, there’s some confusion about what you need to do, that affects your performance,” Akash stated.

A fair bit of credit for Akash’s progress should also go to current national junior selector and former Bengal pacer Ranadeb Bose. During his stint as Bengal’s fast bowling coach, Bose had guided Akash about the use of angles besides fine-tuning his run-up, action and release. Akash is reaping the benefits now.